Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women across the world. Scientists have developed a new drug for breast cancer that has shown the ability to eliminate small breast tumors and significantly shrink large ones in mice with a single dose.
The findings of the study were published in ACS Central Science journal on Wednesday. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2022, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 670 000 deaths globally.
There has been tremendous advancements in breast cancer treatment over the years. The current treatment protocols involve surgery followed by hormone therapy. However, these treatments can have long-term side effects, such as osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, and blood clots.
The researchers of the current study maintain that this new treatment, in a single dose, can eliminate small breast tumors and significantly reduced larger ones in mice—all without harmful side effects.
According to a report by SciTechDaily, the majority of breast cancers are estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) which means they are dependent on estrogen to grow. The team of researchers led by Paul Hergenrother had previously developed a small molecule called ErSO which the team discovered that the compound kills ER+ breast cancer cells but results in undesirable side effects.
In 2022, the researchers synthesized a series of small molecules similar to ErSO. That prior study demonstrated that these derivatives have higher potency, greater selectivity for ER+ cancer cells and better pharmacological properties than the original compound. In the latest study, the team evaluated one derivative, ErSO-TFPy, and found that it effectively killed multiple human ER+ breast cancer cell lines in culture and it was well tolerated, with no obvious deleterious effects, by multiple species (mice, rats and beagles). The scientist also found that the molecule shrank transplanted human breast tumors of various genetic backgrounds in mice.
The researchers are hopeful that if these results translate to human patients, ErSO-TFPy could be transformative for ER+ breast cancer treatment.
“It is very rare for a compound to shrink tumors in mouse models of breast cancer, let alone completely eradicate those tumors with a single dose, so we are eager for ErSO-TFPy to advance for treatment of breast cancer,” Hergenrother said.
The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Center at Illinois.