The Translational Oncology group at the Regional Centre for Biomedical Research at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) and the Albacete University Hospital Complex (CHUA), directed by doctor Alberto Ocaña, has published research in which the degradation of proteins with PROTAC technology has been heralded as the future for breast cancer treatment. This has been proved after using it successfully on triple negative breast cancer patients.
In order to erradicate this type of tumor, the Traslational Oncology team from the Regional Centre for Biomedical Research (CRIB) at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) and the Albacete University Hospital Complex (CHUA) work day after day to develop new treatments. In this vein, the aim of one of the team projects is to assess how efficient a new generation of pharmaceuticals are which identify proteins that are significant in tumor growth in order to cling to them and destroy them, thereby preventing them from reactivating. These pharmaceuticals are known as PROTAC.
Recently, researchers from this group, in collaboration with others from the Santander Institute of Molecular Biology and Cell Cancer, directed by doctor Atanasio Pandiella, analysed how efficient PROTAC was in triple negative breast cancer. Specifically, the researchers evaluated this technology on a family of proteins that are crucial for this subtype to develop: BET proteins.
During this research, by using cell and preclinical models on mice, they discovered that these compounds are highly effective, even on models that have developed resistance to standard treatments against this family of proteins.
According to Doctor Ocaña, who is also director of the experimental therapy programme at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital as well as coordinator of the programme, New Therapies and Resistance Mechanisms at CIBERONC, this study "has yielded some promising results, since this technology can be used not just as a potential treatment for patients suffering from this disease for the first time, but also for those patients who have suffered a relapse or who have shown resistance to other treatments”. However, he added that we will need to wait until clinical trials have been carried out on these pharmaceuticals which can demonstrate they are effective on patients.
This work has been recently published in the high-standing Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research and has received funding from private institutions such as ACEPAIN (Albacete Costuras en la Piel Association) or the CRIS CANCER Foundation (Madrid) as well as public institutions such as; the Albacete Council, the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), by CIBERONC (the Biomedic Cancer Research Centre), the University of Castilla La Mancha or The Salamanca Biosanitary Institute (IBSAL).
"Breast cancer remains one of the main causes of death from cancer for women in the world. In particular, the triple negative subtype, which constitutes between 10-15% of all breast cancer cases, is the deadliest one due to the lack of effective long-term treatment against this subtype".
Reference article:
Noblejas-López MDM, Nieto-Jimenez C, Burgos M, Gómez-Juárez M, Montero JC, Esparís-Ogando A, Pandiella A, Galán-Moya EM and Ocaña A. Activity of BET-proteolysis targeting chimeric (PROTAC) compounds in triple negative breast cancer. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2019 Aug 30;38(1):383. doi: 10.1186/s13046-019-1387-5.
UCLM Communication Office Albacete, 8th of October 2019