Arthur Mercurio, PhD
Analysis geared toward figuring out the mechanisms that promote resistance to radiation remedy in sufferers with triple adverse breast most cancers is underway at UMass Chan Medical Faculty.
Arthur M. Mercurio, PhD, professor of molecular, cell & most cancers biology, obtained a $2.6 million most cancers analysis award from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being.
“There are several types of tumor cells inside a tumor. Some are extra aggressive than others. While you deal with a stable tumor with radiation remedy, you kill a big fraction of the cells. However the cells that stay are those that later go on to metastasize and trigger issues. We’re centered on this inhabitants of tumor cells that resist remedy,” Dr. Mercurio mentioned.
In response to the American Most cancers Society, triple adverse breast most cancers accounts for about 10 to fifteen % of all breast cancers and is commonest in ladies below age 40 and girls who’re Black. Triple adverse breast most cancers grows and spreads quicker than other forms of invasive breast most cancers, has fewer remedy choices and sometimes has a worse prognosis. It’s known as triple adverse breast most cancers as a result of it accommodates neither estrogen nor progesterone receptors and little to no HER2 protein, all three of which may very well be potential therapeutic targets if current.
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Mercurio is growing a novel therapeutic method for overcoming resistance to radiation remedy in triple adverse breast most cancers. He proposes utilizing monoclonal antibodies to inhibit the binding of vascular endothelial development issue (VEGF) signaling via neuropilin-2 (NRP2) in a inhabitants of tumor cells current in triple adverse breast most cancers to beat the resistance.
The Mercurio lab is utilizing a therapeutic monoclonal antibody, created by aTyr Pharma in San Diego, designed particularly to dam the binding of VEGF to neuropilin-2.
“What we’ve proven is that whenever you mix radiation with this antibody, you get far more marked tumor regression than you’d have historically. As a part of this entire course of, we’ve labored out the mechanism by which this pathway promotes resistance to remedy,” Mercurio mentioned.
The work is a component of a bigger analysis program within the Mercurio lab that has additionally proven the power of therapeutic neuropilin-2 antibodies to enhance the response of breast most cancers to chemotherapy and prostate most cancers to immunotherapy. These research have been lately featured in two problems with Science Translational Medication.
The analysis is being performed within the Mercurio lab by Ayush Kumar, an MD/PhD pupil; Hira Goel, PhD, assistant professor of molecular, cell & most cancers biology; and Mengdie Wang, PhD, a postdoctoral affiliate. The Mercurio lab is collaborating with Thomas J. Fitzgerald, MD, chair and professor of radiation oncology, and his workforce.
“Receiving this award is an endorsement of the standard and the impression of the work we’re doing. It permits us to proceed and broaden our collaborative efforts on campus,” Mercurio mentioned.
