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Triple-negative breast cancer: drug trial to start

Triple-negative breast cancer is diagnosed in some 9,000 women a year in Britain - about a fifth of the total.

Patients do not respond to drugs used to target other types of the disease. As a result of this and triple-negative's aggressive nature they often die sooner. Some are in their 30s.

Now scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the US, which is affiliated to Harvard Medical School, have succeeded in identifying a pool of 15 genes associated with it.

Triple-negative breast cancer tumours tend to contain lots of cells which are very similar to stem-cells, in that they quickly divide.

Genetic analysis found 15 genes in these cells which are required for growth. These are linked to what is called a "signalling pathway" - in this case labelled Jak2/Stat3 - a series of biological mechanisms required for cell growth.

The researchers are excited because Jak2/Stat3 has already been investigated for its role in driving certain blood cancers, and two drugs to inhibit these signals are now in advanced clinical trials. Three more are in earlier stages of development.

The hope is that these drugs will also work in slowing or stopping the developing of triple-negative breast cancer tumours.

Kornelia Polyak, a breast cancer geneticist at the institute, said: "The discovery of these targets will rapidly lead to clinical trials with the hope of achieving one of the first specific therapies for triple-negative breast cancers."

The study is publised in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The institute is now setting up a clinical trial of one of the drugs. Nancy Lin, the oncologist who will lead it, said candidates would be tested to see whether their Jak2/Stat3 pathway was "abnormally activated". She said it was expected 50 to 60 per cent of triple-negative breast cancer patients would have an "abnormal pathway".

Dr Caitlin Palframan, of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “This research is very exciting as new treatments for triple negative breast cancer are urgently needed.

"There are limited treatment options available for this group of patients so a targeted treatment would be a real breakthrough.

"However, this is early stage research in mice and we look forward to seeing if this approach will prove effective in the upcoming clinical trials.”

Story property of the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8550280/Triple-negative-breast-cancer-drug-trial-to-start.html