
New findings put forth by the University of Maryland Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) and researchers from four other academic institutions outline a targeted therapeutic strategy to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) – a potential first for the particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.
As demonstrated in the group’s paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, the proposed strategy centres on nanotechnology-based precision-targeting of a gene known as POLR2A.
About 10 to 20 percent of breast cancers are considered triple-negative, which means that, unlike most breast cancers, this particular type is not fuelled by the hormones oestrogen or progesterone, nor by the HER2 protein.
While treatments for most other forms of breast cancer work by targeting one of these three avenues, TNBC does not respond to modern hormonal therapies or medicines that target HER2 protein receptors.
Source: eCancer News







