Over 70% of breast cancers (BC) are estrogen receptor-positive (ER+). The Notch ligand Delta-like 1 (DLL1) is a key player in ER+ BCs development and aggressiveness and its overexpression are associated with poor prognosis. In this study, Portuguese researchers developed a novel anti-DLL1 antibody that inhibited tumor growth and liver metastases in a xenograft mouse model. The data suggests that anti-DLL1 immunotherapy can be a promising strategy for ER+ BC treatment.
Mais de 70% dos cancros da mama são positivos para o recetor de estrogénio (ER+ BC). A expressão elevada da proteína DLL1 nestes tumores está associada a maior agressividade e por conseguinte a pior prognóstico. Neste estudo, investigadores portugueses desenvolveram um anticorpo capaz de impedir a formação de metástases hepáticas em modelos animais xenotransplantados. Este estudo sugere a inibição da proteína DLL1 como uma nova abordagem no tratamento de cancros da mama positivos para o recetor de estrogénio.
Even after apparently successful treatment of primary tumor, some undetectable tumor cells can persist and cause cancer to eventually come back. These cells spread beyond the primary tumor to other organs of the body, where they lay dormant until awakening into deadly metastases.
Joana Maia1,2, Andreia Hanada Otake1,3, Juliana Poças4,5,6, Ana Sofia Carvalho7, Hans Christian Beck8, Ana Magalhães4,5, Rune Matthiesen7, Maria Carolina Strano Moraes1 and Bruno Costa-Silva1
1-Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
2-Graduate Program in Areas of Basic and Applied Biology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
