Sandra Casimiro

This study, led by Sandra Casimiro and Luis Costa from the Oncology Translational Lab at GIMM CARE, part of the GIMM Foundation – Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, demonstrates the potential efficacy of a novel therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) — an aggressive form of breast cancer for which treatment options are largely limited to chemotherapy.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, but 70% of cases are characterized by the presence of hormone receptors for estrogen, progesterone, or both. The first line of treatment for these patients, when presenting with metastatic disease, is endocrine therapy in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors, but the majority develops resistance to treatment within two years.

Authors and Afilliations:

Inês Gomes¹, Bernardo P. de Almeida^2,4, Sara Dâmaso³, André Mansinho^1,3, Inês Correia¹, Sara Henriques¹, Raquel Cruz-Duarte¹, Guilherme Vilhais¹, Pedro Félix¹, Patrícia Alves¹, Patrícia Corredeira¹, Nuno L. Barbosa-Morais², Luis Costa^1,3 and Sandra Casimiro¹

Ao longo dos últimos anos, esta equipa do IMM tem estudado a via RANKL-RANK, principal mecanismo regulador da remodelação óssea, e muito importante na terapêutica de doentes com metástases ósseas. Esta via de sinalização celular foi, mais recentemente, implicada na carcinogénese mamária controlada pela progesterona, estando sobretudo associada a mau prognóstico e cancro da mama triplo negativo.