eMedicineLive

Almost 6% of all breast cancer patients are diagnosed when the disease has already metastasized to distant body parts like the lungs, liver, brain and bones. About 30% of node-negative and 70 percent of node-positive breast cancers relapse. There are constant efforts to unravel the means by which a cancer spreads so that novel methods of treatment are devised for patients who become resistant to existing therapies. In a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP), new methods to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer will be presented this week at the Era of Hope conference.

 

About 60 to 80% of late stage breast cancer patients develop bone metastasis. A multidisciplinary approach was applied to analyze the molecular basis of breast cancer bone metastasis under the leadership of Yibin Kang, PhD, Princeton University. The study showed that there is a network of molecular crosstalk between tumor and bone cells. These involved Jagged 1 gene in the tumor cells, EGFR in bone cells and TGFb released from damaged bone. The interactions between the tumor cells and the host tissue ultimately led to the expansion of the tumor with corresponding bone destruction. The development of bone metastasis can be reduced by targeting these pathways.

 

About 20% of breast cancers over-express the HER2 gene, resulting in a particularly aggressive form of the disease. Many patients develop resistance to the classical targeted trastuzumab therapy after some time. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, under the leadership of Kim Lyerly, have developed a new viral vector vaccine combination for trastuzumab-refractory breast cancer patients. In the study, adenovirus construct (Ad-HER2) and an alphavirus VRP construct (VRP-HER2) were used together to bring forth a potent immune responses capable of halting the growth of and directly killing human breast cancer cells that are resistant to trastuzumab. The researchers are pretty enthusiastic with the response of the new vaccine and have submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine is undergoing preclinical toxicology studies and is expected to enter the clinic in the third quarter of 2011.

 

References:

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