Search Here

A new experimental drug made up of peptides capable of blocking cell-regulation protein that promotes cancer cell division has been successfully delivered through the body via nanodelivery. Such methods allow unstable peptide drugs to reach and attack its target even before degrading. This successful method may be used to treat late-stage and aggressive forms of breast cancer.

Treatments for triple-negative breast cancer can be successfully performed via nanodelivery of peptide drugs that attacks the RAN, a cell-regulation protein that promotes cancer proliferation and cell division on the breast, the Medical News Today reported.

The study was led by Mohamed El-Tanani at the Institute for Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Bradford in the UK. El-Tanani also discovered the new peptide drug that can only be effectively administered to the body through nanoparticle delivery.

High-levels of RAN in the body are often linked to aggressive tumor growth and metastasis. It also often resists chemotherapy, one of the traditional ways in treating breast cancer. Patients with high-levels of RAN also has lower chances of survival.

According to data gathered for the research, 10-20 percent of breast cancers are often diagnosed as triple negative. Triple-negative breast cancers are those cancers whose tumor tests are negative for the most common cause of cancer - human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, estrogen receptors, and progesterone receptors.

Results of the study also reveals that nanoparticles, charged with the peptide on triple-negative cancer cells, reduced their growth rate and stopped replicating. After 24 hours of administering the drug, two thirds of the breast cancer cells died, the NHS UK cited.

The peptide drug that was killing the cancer cells was also preventing the RAN activation in the body by silencing the RCC1 gene. Further studies are already being conducted to be able to continue exploring on the nanoparticle delivery method in a model of triple-negative breast cancer to be able to proceed with clinical trials.