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| Metformin and heme both target processes that take place in the mitochondria – image courtesy U Chicago |
While those treatments have dramatically improved outcomes for breast cancer patients, the only treatments available for the 15-20 percent of patients whose cancer does not have any of those three targets are surgery and harsh chemotherapy treatments that have a lot of side effects.
In addition to fewer treatment options, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tends to be more aggressive, affect younger women, women of African descent and those with a mutation in the BRCA1 gene. In short, TNBC is a sort of triple whammy in terms of poorer outcomes.
Now researchers at the University of Chicago Ben May Department of Cancer Research have found that a combination of two older drugs, already approved for other purposes may be an effective treatment alternative for TNBC.
Led by Masha Rosner, PhD the researchers have shown in mice that the drug metformin teamed with heme reduced tumor growth and metastasis, or the spread of the cancer. Their findings were published in the March 6, 2019 issue of the journal Nature.
Metformin has been used to treat type 2 diabetes since 1957. It reduces glucose production by the liver and increases insulin sensitivity. While people with diabetes have a higher risk of cancer, it has long been known that those treated with metformin tend to be less likely to develop the disease. The drug has direct anti-cancer effects than can block reproduction of cancer cells.
Heme is used to treat porphyria a group of disorders that disrupt the process of heme production, which is critical for making hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body. It targets a gene called BACH1, which is highly expressed in TNBC and plays key role in metastasis.
By combining the two, the researchers think they may have an alternative treatment for TNBC, as well as other cancers.
Sources University of Chicago Medicine press release.
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