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Paper: Dasatinib Sensitizes Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells to Chemotherapy by Targeting Breast Cancer Stem Cells
Corresponding author: Dr. Jean-Jacques Lebrun
Telephone: 514.934 1934 Ext 34846
E-mail: JJ.Lebrun@mcgill.ca
Author summary: Triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) have very poor patient survival outcomes and are responsible for most breast cancer-related deaths. Although showing an initial response to presurgical chemotherapy, most of these tumours are recurrent, develop resistance to chemotherapy treatments and spread to distant organs (metastasis), ultimately increasing the death toll by this type of tumours. In fact, less than 30% of patients with metastatic and chemo-resistant TNBC survive after 5 years, highlighting the fact that resistance to chemotherapy remains one of the biggest challenge for breast cancer patient's management. In our study, we tested different drugs for their efficacy to eliminate a population of cancer cells that are responsible for chemotherapy resistance driving tumour recurrence and metastasis. We found a specific drug, called dasatinib, to efficiently suppress the aggressive features of these cancer cells and re-sensitize chemo-resistant TNBCs to chemotherapy. Moreover, our study provides evidence for the use of a combination of dasatinib with chemotherapeutic agents in treating chemo-resistant and metastatic breast cancers. These results provide a rationale to expand on these findings and to test this combination treatment in clinical trials using large cohorts of metastatic breast cancer patients with TNBCs.
Post embargo link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-018-0287-3
DOI: s41416-018-0287-3
Paper: Increased risk of second cancers at sites associated with HPV after a prior HPV-associated malignancy, a systematic review and meta-analysis
Corresponding author: Dr Duncan Gilbert
E-mail: duncan.gilbert@ucl.ac.uk
Author summary: Human papilloma viruses (HPV) cause 5% of cancers worldwide. HPV can cause cancer of the cervix, anus, vulva, vagina and penis and some tonsil and tongue cancers. These cancers can be successfully treated either with surgery or a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy if more advanced. These treatments cure many patients. Patients cured of one HPV linked cancer may be at a higher risk of developing a second cancer. We searched for, and analysed, all previous reports and combined these results to estimate that increased risk. Overall, we found patients were at a higher risk of getting a second cancer at any of these sites. The increase in risk ranges from around twice as likely to get cervix cancer after a cancer of the tonsil or tongue, to being 14 times as likely to get anal cancer after being treated for a vulvo-vaginal cancer. Although these relative risks are high the absolute risk remains low. We hope this information can help guide work to detect these cancers early (e.g. through follow up and screening) or, in the future, prevent them.
Post embargo link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-018-0273-9
DOI: s41416-018-0273-9
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British Journal of Cancer