Scientists from the University of Sharjah say they have good news for breast cancer patients, particularly those afflicted with the most aggressive types of the malignant tumor known as triple-negative breast cancer. The study, published in the European Journal of Pharmacology , provides "new ways for the treatment of the special type of breast cancer called triple-negative breast cancer," said the research's corresponding author, Prof. Raafat El-Awady.
Triple-negative breast cancers are more aggressive than other forms of breast cancer as they tend to grow and spread quickly, have limited treatment options and show resistance to available therapies. "Our research has found that high HDAC6 levels lower the amount of progesterone receptors, making breast cancer cells less responsive to hormonal therapies," Prof. El-Awady, a pharmacologist, adds.
"The implications of our research could extend beyond the lab, offering hope for more effective treatment options in the battle against aggressive breast cancer." HDAC6, or histone deacetylase 6, influences a broad range of signaling pathways and cellular processes in cancer cells involving response of cancer cells to therapeutics, and cancer metastasis, or development of malignant growth beyond the tumor's primary site, while hormone receptors , like the estrogen and progesterone, cause the growth of only some types of breast cancers, which are hormone dependent. But when these receptors do not function properly, according to Prof.
El.