"People have tried to block the spread of this form of cancer but attempts so far have failed because if you try one approach, the cancer cells compensate by finding a way to escape," said Yibin Kang, the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, associate director for consortium research at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and senior author on the study.

Timing of Tinagl1 Treatment

The team found that Tinagl1 protein was also effective in preventing further growth and spread of tumors that had already started to metastasize.

Tinagl1 Protein - Inhibiting Two Major Pathways in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

• Triple negative breast cancer is particularly aggressive and hard to treat due to the activity of the two pathways namely epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and integrin signaling pathways
• Until now treatments have focused on suppressing either one of the pathways, but the tumor cells manage to evade treatment and find a way to escape by finding alternate pathways
• Tinagl1 protein suppressed the two major pathways simultaneously in a distinct manner leaving the tumor cells little room for escape or compensate, much like killing two birds with one stone
• Tinagl1 protein was found to suppress the activity of the mutated EGFR protein, and simultaneously inhibits the integrin/FAK signaling pathways, both of which promote the uncontrolled growth and survival of tumor cells and spread of tumor cells to other parts of the body

Tinagl1 Expression in Human Breast Cancers

The study team analyzed over 800 tumor samples obtained from breast cancer patients

• Patients with advanced stage of cancer at diagnosis and shorter duration of survival had decreased expression of Tinagl1 protein
• Patients with high levels of expression of Tinagl1 protein had better survival and prognosis
• The difference in patient outcome was most marked in the subset of patients with triple negative breast cancer

Triple Negative Breast Cancer in Brief

Triple negative breast cancer is a fast growing and aggressive form of breast cancer accounting for more than 15% of all breast cancer cases. It gets its name from the fact that this form of breast cancer lacks all the three major biological targets of breast cancer therapy namely estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), making the tumor very difficult to treat with high recurrence rates and poor patient outcome.

Summary - The findings of the current study suggest that recombinant Tinagl1 protein could find application in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer, warranting further research.

Reference :

1. Tinagl1 Suppresses Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Progression and Metastasis by Simultaneously Inhibiting Integrin/FAK and EGFR Signaling - (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2018.11.016)

Source: Medindia