A team of researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), led by Dr. Sam Thiagalingam, recently made a breakthrough discovery in the treatment of basal-like breast cancer (BLBC).
BLBC, more commonly known as triple negative, is a very aggressive form of breast cancer, and the discovery the BUSM team made is of a pathway that may lead to the development of a BLBC therapy.
The findings were published in Molecular Cancer Research, a medical journal.
BLBCs typically do not respond to targeted therapies; the tumors usually metastasize quickly and the prognosis for patients with this type of cancer is usually not positive. BLCB tumors often have very high cancer stem cell (CSC) content, and the rate of recurrence, progression, metastasis and drug resistance is extremely high.
Thiagalingam's team discovered a protein produced by BLBC cells, periostin (POSTN), nurtured and supported cancer stems cells by activating a signaling pathway in these cells.
The disruption of either POSTN or the integrin receptor, the researchers discovered, led to significant CSC loss and the lessened ability of the cancer cells to form tumors. Additionally, it was found that BLBCs with high POSTN levels led to increased production of key cytokines.
"These findings suggest that BLBC cells have an innate ability to establish a local microenvironment that is supportive of cancer stem cells," Thiagalingam said. "This indicates that POSTN might be clinically relevant, as a biomarker and/or a therapeutic target, in the setting of BLBC."
The next step is to find ways to effectively use the treatment for patients living with BLBC -- and maybe other carcinomas as well.
"Ultimately, eliminating cancer stem cells may represent a viable approach to combating BLBCs, and inhibition of POSTN signaling may be one way to achieve this," Thiagalingam said.
