Breast Cancer

Less than 20% of diagnosed breast cancers are designated “triple-negative,” meaning that the affected tissues lack three types of receptors often found in other breast cancer types, but TNBCs are often aggressive with a higher risk of recurrence, metastasis and mortality.

Breast cancer is categorized into three major subtypes: hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative. Although there are targeted therapeutic approaches for the first two, there are limited options for triple negative-breast cancer patients. In a new study, researchers have discovered that the nuclear receptor TLX can potentially be used for therapeutic intervention.

An Illinois research team is developing a method of producing and delivering monoclonal antibody treatments for breast cancer through commensal microbes in the gut. If successful, this approach could increase accessibility and dramatically decrease the cost of monoclonal antibodies.

A new study by Zeynep Madak-Erdogan (CGD/EIRH/GSP) Associate Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Cancer Center at Illinois Education Program Leader, and her team have found a new mechanism of endocrine resistance in breast cancers metastasized to the liver.

A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100% of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks even large tumors to undetectable levels.

Led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the research team reports the findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Scientists working to understand the cellular processes linking high cholesterol to breast cancer recurrence and metastasis report that a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism causes some cells to send out cancer-promoting signals to other cells. These signals are packaged in membrane-bound compartments called extracellular vesicles.

Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology Erik Nelson (ACPP) has won a $4.5M Era of Hope Scholar Award from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). This prestigious award supports individuals early in their careers who have demonstrated significant potential to effect meaningful change in breast cancer research. Recipients of the Era of Hope Scholar Award are leaders and visionaries in their respective field who go beyond conventional thinking to change the current landscape of breast cancer research and therapy.

In breast cancer tumors, a molecule produced when the body breaks down cholesterol hijacks the myeloid immune cells that normally arm T cells to fight cancer, a new study in mice found. Instead, the hijacked myeloid cells disarm the T cells and even tell them to self-destruct.

Two of the most basic motivations that drive scientific research—exploration of the unknown and the desire to solve a pressing problem—are represented by this year’s Carl R. Woese undergraduate research scholars. Allison Narlock will spend her summer investigating the mechanics of archaeal cell division; Monika Ziogaite will be working to identify genetic variants that contribute to the metastatic potential of breast cancers.