Why is the most dangerous breast cancer difficult to treat?

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the world, and it is also the type of cancer that causes the most female deaths

An important obstacle is that the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or human epidermal growth factor receptor expressed by other breast cancers can become targets for the development of targeted therapies, but triple-negative breast cancers do not express these receptors, so research It is difficult for personnel to find effective therapeutic targets

In recent years, the rise of immunotherapy has become a breakthrough in a variety of difficult-to-treat cancers, and triple-negative breast cancer is no exception

Why is triple-negative breast cancer so difficult to deal with? In a new study published in Nature, a joint team found a key clue: A molecule called DDR1 erects a fortification around the tumor to prevent immune cells from attacking and killing tumor cells

The full name of DDR1 is Discoid Domain Receptor 1

This study pointed out that DDR1 molecules can organize the extracellular matrix into a highly ordered state.

For immune cells, the DDR1 molecule constitutes an insurmountable obstacle; but when the mechanism of action of this molecule surfaced, for scientists trying to conquer cancer, the dawn of the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer appeared

In the latest paper, the research team evaluated the effects of knocking out the Ddr1 gene in multiple preclinical models

Based on the above findings, the study's co-corresponding author, Professor An Zhiqiang from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, proposed a therapy that targets DDR1

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Sun, X.

[2] Researchers identify molecule that blocks immune cells from entering and killing breast tumors.