Molecule could identify and aid treatment of aggressive breast cancers

Kathy Mahdoubi | | Health Imaging | Molecular Imaging

A molecule has been found that could be leveraged to treat the most dangerous cancers of the breast, known as triple negative breast cancer, according to a Nov. 3 announcement from the City College of New York (CCNY).

Debra Auguste, MD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Grove School of Engineering at the CCNY and also the recipient of a 2014 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, led the research that identified overexpression of intercellular adhesion molecular 1 (ICAM-1) as an effective biomarker for triple negative breast cancer.

"No therapies are available to treat triple negative breast cancer cells and because of that patients have a poor prognosis," said Auguste in a press release.

Auguste et al found this overexpression of ICAM-1 in human cell lines and tissue models for triple negative breast cancer. This could potentially be used as a target for diagnostic tests and therapies for this very aggressive range of cancers with a very poor survival rate.

The study was funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The research also includes contributions from team members from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Emory University, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Kathy Mahdoubi

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