scholarly journals Proteolysis-targeting chimeras and their implications in breast cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeles C. Tecalco-Cruz ◽  
Jesús Zepeda-Cervantes ◽  
Josué O. Ramírez-Jarquín ◽  
Alberto Rojas-Ochoa

Breast cancer (BC) is a highly heterogeneous neoplasm of the mammary tissue, causing the deaths of a large number of women worldwide. Nearly 70% and 20% of BC cases are estrogen receptor alpha positive (ERα+) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+), respectively; therefore, ER and HER2 targeted therapies have been employed in BC treatment. However, resistance to these therapies has been reported, indicating a need for developing novel therapeutic strategies. Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are new, promising therapeutic tools designed with a bimodular structure: one module allows specific binding to target proteins, and the other module allows efficient degradation of these target proteins. In this paper, PROTACs and their potential in controlling the progression of ERα and HER2+ BC are discussed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 493-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karima Oualla ◽  
Heba M. El-Zawahry ◽  
Banu Arun ◽  
James M. Reuben ◽  
Wendy A. Woodward ◽  
...  

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer that is defined by negative estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status. Treating patients with TNBC remains clinically challenging, as patients are not candidates for endocrine or HER2-directed therapy. As a result, chemotherapy with traditional agents such as anthracyclines and taxanes remains the only available option with moderate success. Recent discoveries have revealed that TNBC is a heterogeneous disease at the clinical, histological and molecular levels. The use of biomarkers to identify distinct subsets of TNBC that derive the greatest benefit from presently approved as well as novel therapeutics has become the main focus of current research. The aim of this review is to explore the clinical and biological complexity of TNBC as well as identify novel therapeutic options that target the various molecular subsets of TNBC.


Author(s):  
Swathi R. Shetty ◽  
Ragini Yeeravalli ◽  
Tanya Bera ◽  
Amitava Das

: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a type-I transmembrane protein with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity is activated by peptide growth factors such as EGF, epigen, amphiregulin, etc. EGFR plays a vital role in regulating cell growth, migration, and differentiation in various tissue-specific cancers. It has been reported to be overexpressed in lung, head, and neck, colon, brain, pancreatic, and breast cancer that trigger tumor progression and drug resistance. EGFR overexpression alters the signaling pathway and induces cell division, invasion, and cell survival. Our prior studies demonstrated that EGFR inhibition modulates chemosensitivity in breast cancer stem cells thereby serving as a potential drug target for breast cancer mitigation. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Lapatinib, Neratinib) and monoclonal antibodies (Trastuzumab) targeting EGFR have been developed and approved by the US FDA for clinical use against breast cancer. This review highlights the critical role of EGFR in breast cancer progression and enumerates the various approaches being undertaken to inhibit aggressive breast cancers by suppressing the downstream pathways. Further, the mechanisms of action of potential molecules at various stages of drug development as well as clinically approved drugs for breast cancer treatment are illustrated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilana Schlam ◽  
Sandra M. Swain

AbstractHuman epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancer accounts for 20–25% of all breast cancers. Multiple HER2-targeted therapies have been developed over the last few years, including the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) lapatinib, neratinib, tucatinib, and pyrotinib. These drugs target HER2 and other receptors of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, therefore each has unique efficacy and adverse event profile. HER2-directed TKIs have been studied in the early stage and advanced settings and have shown promising responses. There is increasing interest in utilizing these drugs in combination with chemotherapy and /or other HER2-directed agents in patients with central nervous system involvement, TKIs have shown to be effective in this setting for which treatment options have been previously limited and the prognosis remains poor. The aim of this review is to summarize currently approved TKIs for HER2+ breast, key clinical trials, and their use in current clinical practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175883592110090
Author(s):  
Hong-Fei Gao ◽  
Zhiyong Wu ◽  
Ying Lin ◽  
Xiang-Yang Song ◽  
Yin Cao ◽  
...  

Background: Although dual blockade HER2-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with excellent outcomes for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, pertuzumab is not available to all patients due to cost. The optimal neoadjuvant chemotherapy for HER2-positive breast cancer in the presence of a single HER2 blockade is unknown. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of epirubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel/trastuzumab (EC-TH) with docetaxel/carboplatin/trastuzumab (TCH) neoadjuvant setting for HER2-positive breast cancer under the single HER2 blockade. Methods: Patients with stage II-IIIC HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned to either eight cycles of EC-TH every 3 weeks during all chemotherapy cycles, or six cycles of TCH every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) (defined as the absence of invasive tumor cells in breast and axilla, ypT0/is ypN0). Results: From May 2017 to November 2019, 140 patients were randomly assigned, and 135 patients were ultimately found evaluable for the primary endpoint. The pCR was recorded in 25 of 67 patients [37.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 25.8–50.0] in the EC-TH group and in 38 of 68 patients (55.9%, 95% CI, 43.3–67.9) in the TCH group ( p = 0.032). The most common adverse events (AEs) were neutropenia in 24 of 67 (35.8%) patients in the EC-TH group versus 27 of 68 (39.7%) in the TCH group ( p = 0.642), anemia in 33 of 67 (49.3%) patients in the EC-TH group versus 34 of 68 (50.0%) in the TCH group ( p = 0.931), and thrombocytopenia in five of 67 (7.5%) patients in the EC-TH group versus 17 of 68 (25.0%) in the TCH group ( p = 0.006). Conclusion: For patients receiving the single HER2 blockade trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer, TCH regimen might be a preferred neoadjuvant therapy. Trial registration: This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03140553) on 2 May 2017.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3427
Author(s):  
Reyhaneh Farghadani ◽  
Rakesh Naidu

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Despite the overall successes in breast cancer therapy, hormone-independent HER2 negative breast cancer, also known as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), lacking estrogens and progesterone receptors and with an excessive expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), along with the hormone-independent HER2 positive subtype, still remain major challenges in breast cancer treatment. Due to their poor prognoses, aggressive phenotype, and highly metastasis features, new alternative therapies have become an urgent clinical need. One of the most noteworthy phytochemicals, curcumin, has attracted enormous attention as a promising drug candidate in breast cancer prevention and treatment due to its multi-targeting effect. Curcumin interrupts major stages of tumorigenesis including cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, and metastasis in hormone-independent breast cancer through the modulation of multiple signaling pathways. The current review has highlighted the anticancer activity of curcumin in hormone-independent breast cancer via focusing on its impact on key signaling pathways including the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, JAK/STAT pathway, MAPK pathway, NF-ĸB pathway, p53 pathway, and Wnt/β-catenin, as well as apoptotic and cell cycle pathways. Besides, its therapeutic implications in clinical trials are here presented.


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