A ray of hope for “impossible” BREAST CANCER?

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, it’s important to recognize the fight, grit, and determination of every single person fighting breast cancer.

One of the biggest battles is triple-negative breast cancer—which is by far one of the hardest types to treat. It’s even referred to as the ‘impossible’ breast cancer.

Unfortunately, nearly 20% of all breast cancers are triple-negative and usually require an intense amount of treatment.

If you recall, Hollywood star Angelina Jolie had her breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes removed after she received a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis.

Fortunately, scientists may have identified a key weakness in this cancer that could help change the game…

The conventional treatment plan for triple-negative breast cancer is immunotherapy—a process that combines chemotherapy with other drugs that activate the body’s immune cells to attack cancerous tumors.

Unfortunately, many don’t see positive results with this process, part of what makes triple-negative breast cancer so hard to beat.

But scientists from the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center may have stumbled upon a weakness in this “impossible” breast cancer.

They zeroed in on NKG2A receptors on immune cells—sometime called “natural killers”—which play a crucial role in combatting cancer cells. They also looked at a molecule named tumor-specific Major Histocompatibility Complex I (tsMHC-I). This molecule is important in allowing your body to detect and combat cancer cells.

They analyzed both mice and human breast cancer samples and noted some inconsistencies.

A significant variability in the molecule’s expression means, according to the study leaders, the tumors have already found a way to remove a critical component of immunotherapy’s response.

In layman’s terms, these tumors can “escape” the immune system which would explain why conventional treatments aren’t able to effectively target triple-negative breast cancer.

As for the potential breakthrough? Study authors note that this could lead a new biomarker that identifies patients that exhibit these inconsistencies and would allow for more targeted treatments for any tumor-related cells that may “escape.”

Obviously, a lot more work and research need to be done. But if it leads to a more effective approach at stopping triple-negative breast cancer, we’re all for it!

In the meantime, check out the cancer fighting powers of bloodroot – which has been found to kill some of the most aggressive cancer cells out there.

To fighting breast cancer,

Cory Templeman
Senior Editor, eAlert

Sources:

StudyFinds. “Breakthrough Exposes Potential Weak Spot In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.” https://studyfinds.org/treat-triple-negative-breast-cancer/