Researchers at the University of West London (UWL) have helped identify a promising new approach to treating one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat forms of breast cancer.

Working with researchers from the University of Surrey and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the team investigated a potential new treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of the disease for which treatment options are more limited.

The research focused on proteins that help control how cells grow and develop. In many cancers, these proteins do not function normally and can contribute to the growth and survival of cancer cells. Researchers investigated whether disrupting the way these proteins interact could provide a new way of attacking cancer cells. The team specifically targeted interactions between proteins known as HOX and PBX using an experimental agent called HTL-001.

The researchers found that blocking these interactions triggered cancer cell death and enhanced the effects of several established anticancer drugs. Significantly, HTL-001 also reduced tumour growth in pre-clinical models, providing further evidence of the potential for targeting HOX/PBX interactions as a new therapeutic approach.

The findings could be particularly important for TNBC, which does not have the three receptors commonly targeted by existing breast cancer treatments. This means that some hormone therapies and targeted drugs used for other forms of breast cancer are not effective against TNBC.

Professor Richard Morgan, lead researcher from UWL said:
“These findings are important as they strengthen the evidence that HOX proteins are a potential target in these aggressive forms of breast cancer. They also point to a specific pattern of gene activity that is related to greater tumour sensitivity to HTL-001, which could help to target this therapy to patients who will benefit the most from it”.

The study builds on research into targeting HOX/PBX interactions as a potential treatment for different cancers and provides further evidence to support the development of new therapies based on this approach.

While further research will be needed before the approach could be considered for use in patients, the findings provide a strong basis for continued investigation of HOX/PBX inhibition as a potential treatment for aggressive forms of breast cancer.