This Daffodil Day, you're giving to research into treatments for triple negative breast cancer.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype with the poorest survival outcomes and accounts for 15-20 percent of all breast cancer cases. This means a significant proportion of people diagnosed with breast cancer are faced with a cancer that responds poorly to current treatments.
While chemotherapy is the mainstay for TNBC, up to 70% of TNBC patients will not respond completely to this treatment. For these patients, the risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body – commonly the lungs, liver and brain – is much higher.
The answers are out there, we just need to support our best cancer researchers to find them.
Associate Professor David Croucher and his team at The Garvan Institute are developing strategies aimed at preventing the growth and survival of metastatic TNBC cells (cells that spread from one part of the body to another).
“There are currently no strategies to effectively treat metastatic TNBC, meaning there is an urgent need for new therapies specifically aimed at preventing metastatic disease.
To do this, we aim to repurpose clinically-approved oncology drugs, called HDAC inhibitors, which we have shown prevent the growth of TNBC cells.”
said A/Prof Croucher.
A/Prof Croucher and his team are concentrating on a specific pathway of signals between cells that are highly active in triple–negative breast cancer but not found in healthy cells.
This signalling pathway is essential for the growth and spread of triple–negative cancer cells, so the team is looking for a way to block this activity. Two drugs are already showing promise.
Cancer research has advanced so much that the survival rate for many cancers has reached an all-time high. But for as long as there remains untreatable cancers, there will be dedicated researchers looking for answers – and, with your help, Cancer Council will be able to fund their work until a breakthrough is found.
“We can’t do the work that we do without the funding that we’ve received from Cancer Council. Please consider donating, so that we can keep our focus on this important work and keep trying to improve the lives of breast cancer patients,”
said A/Prof Croucher.
For all that cancer takes, please give to lifesaving cancer research this Daffodil Day.
