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A GROUP OF Irish scientists have discovered a new treatment that can help prevent a relapse in patients who have suffered from an aggressive form of cancer.
In a world first, scientists working at NUI Galway found that targeting a specific stress response during treatment could improve how patients respond to chemotherapy and reduce the chances of so-called ‘triple negative’ breast cancer returning.
This type of breast cancer is one of the most difficult to treat forms of the disease to treat, and accounts for around 15% of all breast cancers diagnosed.
It occurs more frequently in younger women, and unlike other forms of breast cancer, there are no targeted therapies available for it.
The disease is mainly treated by chemotherapy, but while this is usually successful initially, a large percentage of patients relapse within one to three years of treatment and have a poor long-term prognosis.
But following work by scientists at the Apoptosis Research Centre, the exact mechanism of the tumour relapse after chemotherapy, which remained unknown until now, has been discovered.
The research team, led by Professor Afshin Samali, found that IRE1 – a cellular stress sensor that alleviates short-term stresses within cells, such as a lack of nutrients or oxygen – is central to patients relapsing when they have received treatment.
They discovered that chemotherapy can activate this IRE1 stress response in triple negative breast cancer cells, which in turn causes the growth of new cancer cells.
By making the discovery, the scientists found that this process can be halted by specifically inhibiting IRE1 using a clinically-relevant, small molecule drug called ‘MCK8866′.
This drug not only improves the initial chemotherapy treatment, but also reduces the chance of relapse of triple negative breast cancer, reducing the growth of new cancer cells by 50%.
In a pre-clinical model of the cancer, the drug increased the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment and led to the regression of 8 out of 10 cancers, compared to the regression of just 3 out of 10 cancers using chemotherapy alone.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Afshin Samali said his team were excited to discover a new therapeutic strategy for triple negative breast cancer patients.
“Furthermore, this strategy may benefit many other cancer patients whose cancer cells rely on activated cell stress responses to survive,” he said.
Dr Susan Logue, first author of the study at NUI Galway, said: “While further research is needed, this work is a great example of how curiosity-driven basic research can lead to translational outcomes with real potential to impact on patient treatment.”
The study, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society, Horizon 2020, and Breast Cancer Now, is published today in the internationally-renowned Nature Communications journal.
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Many of us scientists working on these studies are public sector workers. Hopefully those who constantly moan about us remember this next time they complain about us being paid too much.
@Ciara Ni Mhurchu: Point is are that money spent wisely? I somehow find it hard to figure out how you can work effectively as you seem to be ever-present in the journal commenting on everything.
@Pat Patovic: I get annual leave. Do you have a problem with that? My job provides 24/7 cover, 365 days a year. Not all of us work a 9 to 5 Monday to Friday like yourself.
@Ciara Ni Mhurchu: Those who deserve it get paid well, strikes for more constantly by your sector does no favours
@Darren Norris: Those who ‘deserve’ it, don’t get well paid.
Why shouldn’t they go on strike? What do you think they should do to improve pay and conditions?
@Ciara Ni Mhurchu: Conversely many are private sector workers. whats your point?
@Ciara Ni Mhurchu: There is a time and a place for that conversation and I’m not disputing differently but this is a good luck story and shouldn’t be use to voice your personal anger or grievance
@Cathal Mac Einri: Yet most aren’t. Vast majority are Public. It would do well of people to remember that the next time they’re delighted with work we have done but whinge about us all in the one breath.
@Nucky: It’s not a good luck story. It’s a testament to the hard work done by many public sector workers in the science and medical field.
@Ciara Ni Mhurchu: I’d say if you were made of chocolate you’d eat yourself! Most people go into these fields to try and make a difference and not for the money. In saying that People should be paid for what they are worth without question but you’re coming across as very needy
@Ciara Ni Mhurchu: in my mind ye are all not paid enough…i hope that one day you will find a cure for this dreaded disease…i watched my young sister die of it and it haunts me every day i wake up..
This is actually a real breakthrough and if you were a scientist working on cancer research you would laud its discovery rather than making a spurious public sector 24/7/365 around the clock nonsense comment. I don’t look for your posts but the appear regularly and are always negative, argumentative and off the point.
Cancer touches all of us at some point in our lives. It’s a massive challenge and I have seen close up and first hand the excellent level of treatment provided by our health services and how many healthcare professionals devote their lives to helping people with this condition.
You are not like them.
@David McShite: Comment was in response to Ciara Ni Negative.
That is amazing research! Well done and hopefully there are similar breakthroughs for other cancer treatments that come from it!
“– a cellular stress sensor that alleviates short-term stresses within cells, such as a lack of nutrients or oxygen – is central to patients relapsing when they have received treatment.”
Oxygen.
We really do go full circle as oxygen is one of the best tools to treat many illnesses.
@Pat Patovic: And Oxygen is also slowly killing us.
@ihcalaM: Correct but it kills pathogens fast. Like extremely fast.
@Pat Patovic: nearly sounds like you knew this already pat . It’s an awful
Shame you didn’t publish your research before this team. I’m sure it’s as simple as taking deep breaths . Tell me, do you know what happens when people are exposed to a high oxygen atmosphere , or have you already developed a targeted delivery system as part of your own research ?
@Brendan Harlowe: Quite a lot of people already knew and why does that shock you so much? No, I did not develop a targeted delivery system but it is out there – other people did. You would know if you did your own research in that matter.
This is fantastic news!!! Well done to all involved
Fantastic news!Well done,Dr Logue&co!
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