A new experimental molecule developed by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University may offer a potential path toward treating one of the most difficult forms of breast cancer.
Researchers say the compound could help tackle triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive type of the disease that currently has limited treatment options.
The findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, describe how the molecule — known as SU212 — targets an enzyme that cancer cells rely on to grow and spread.
“It’s an important step forward to treat triple-negative breast cancer,” said Sanjay V. Malhotra, the study’s senior author and co-director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.
“Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive form of cancer and there are no effective drugs available right now.”
Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for about 15% of all breast cancer cases. It is often harder to treat because it lacks the receptors that many standard therapies target.
To test the new compound, researchers used a humanized mouse model designed to closely replicate how the disease behaves in people.
The molecule SU212 works by attaching to an enzyme called enolase 1, or ENO1. This enzyme helps regulate glucose levels inside cells and is produced in unusually high amounts by many cancer cells.
Once SU212 binds to ENO1, the enzyme begins to break down.
That disruption interferes with a key metabolic pathway that cancer cells depend on for energy and growth. In the study, the process reduced tumour growth and limited the spread of cancer in the mice.
Under normal conditions, ENO1 plays a role in helping cells convert glucose into energy. But because cancer cells often rely heavily on glucose metabolism, interfering with this process may weaken their ability to survive and spread.
Malhotra noted the approach may be particularly relevant for people who also have metabolic conditions such as diabetes, which is linked to high blood sugar levels.
The researchers also believe the strategy could eventually be applied to other cancers.
ENO1 has been linked to the progression of several other malignancies, including glioma, pancreatic cancer and thyroid carcinoma.
“A drug that targets enolase 1 could help improve the treatment of these cancers too,” Malhotra said.
The next step for the research team would be to move the molecule toward human clinical trials. That process involves securing regulatory approval and the resources needed to launch studies involving patients.
Malhotra joined Oregon Health & Science University in 2020 after previously working at Stanford University. The molecule itself was originally developed during earlier research at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.
At OHSU, Malhotra and his colleagues focus on turning laboratory discoveries into potential treatments that could benefit patients in hospitals and clinics.
“There is definitely great science going on here, and we want to translate that science for the benefit of people,” he said.
The research was supported by several organizations, including the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense.
