State scientists continue to face the challenges that diseases such as triple-negative cancer bring with them, a disease with underdiagnosed patients due to an aggressive tumor.
Jose Perez of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dara Esther Peterson.
Belinda Z. Burgos GonzálezLatin Agency for News Medicine and Public Health
Namely, the labs of Dr Esther Peterson and Dr José Perez of the Comprehensive Cancer Center seek to evaluate the molecular mechanisms and gene expression changes that lead to the aggressiveness of this type of tumor, which affects average young women. .
“Triple negative” is the term used to describe tumors that are estrogen receptor negative, PR negative, and HER2 negative. These do not respond to hormone therapy or HER2-targeting therapies.
This study was conducted in in vitro breast tissue cell models.
“Within inflammatory breast cancer, we can find other subtypes where they have expression of the estrogen hormone and have full participation in growth factors as there are also triple-negative tumors, the important thing is to know which of these subtypes is the most difficult to treat,” explained Dr. Peterson. What is known so far is that triple negativity lacks targeted therapies in order to increase the best treatment.
They are looking for treatments that can first control disease and increase patient survival. Molecules have been studied in the laboratory previously, and they are cells that have been isolated from inflammatory breast cancer patients, which is why we want to understand the disease better and know whether the cells containing the estrogen hormone give way to the aggressive properties prevalent in the disease, ”the doctor added.
On the other hand, Dr. Perez said that he also seeks to know the cellular changes that occur in this disease.
“It is also important to know the receptors involved in estrogen therapy, and it is also about understanding the biology and factors responsible for understanding aggression or the genotypes of migration and what genes we can link to these cellular processes,” the researcher emphasized.
He noted in passing that the team is looking into the possibility of arranging the genes of a person with the disease so that he can understand the expression processes that promote the development of the condition.
The doctor said, “The genetic part seeks in some way to access the basic tissue of the patient with this condition, and in this way we can know the transcription process that occurs and thus we can sequence the person’s gene.”
However, although this research is still in an early stage, both researchers said that once this year ends as long as the right environment is in place, they can start experimental models with mice.
“We have confirmation that if we treat our cells with estrogen, changes in the genotype will occur, and this means that there is greater cell proliferation and migration in the experiments. We have found that there are some changes in kinases (a type of enzyme that modifies other molecules, which can explain aggression) Noticeable in inflammatory breast cancer, “the doctor concluded.
13 to 15 percent of Puerto Rican women develop triple-negative breast cancer.
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