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NONPROFIT
NEW HOPE
for triple negative breast cancer patients
BY SARAH MUNROE
Every year, more than 40,000 women in
the United States die from breast cancer.
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) repre-
sents a disproportionately higher number
(~50 percent) of breast cancer deaths, even
though it represents a relatively small per-
centage (15 percent to 25 percent) of total
cases. TNBC also contributes to survival dis- to stop growth from happening.
parities among African Americans and His-
panics because of its higher prevalence (~30
percent) among these minority groups.
Since TNBC, which is more common
among younger women and minority
women, does not respond to targeted breast
cancer therapies, harsh chemotherapy is the
standard treatment for these patients. Luck-
ily there is new hope: San Antonio’s own
breast cancer research team, led by Dr.
Pothana Saikumar, an associate professor of
pathology in the School of Medicine at the
University of Texas Health Science Center
San Antonio, was awarded a $1 million
multi-year grant in 2013 by the Susan G.
Komen Scientific Research Program to find
a new targeted therapy.
In addition to the body’s immune system,
another surveillance mechanism comes in
the form of a protein called transforming
growth factor beta, or TGF-beta to combat
cancer. This protein has a Jekyll and Hyde
24 San Antonio Medicine • March 2015
relationship to cancer. At first it can be help- TNBC, but they also will help in preventing
ful in combatting cancer cells in early stages,
but once cancer is advanced, the TGF-beta
actually begins to promote cancer growth
and metastasis (the spread of cancer from
one organ to another). Dr. Saikumar and his
team are studying this and looking for a way
‘PARTNER-IN-CRIME’
The “partner-in-crime” to TGF-beta’s ac-
tion is an unusual protein called TMEPAI.
Dr. Saikumar’s research team identified
TMEPAI to work alongside TGF-beta in
controlling cell growth and migration while
studying kidney regeneration in 2010.
When TMEPAI was shut off, the cancer cells
returned to a normal state and a number of
benefits occurred. The cancer cells no longer
underwent metastasis, and the tumors
shrunk. Dr. Saikumar’s discovery was pro-
found in that it revealed a novel therapeutic
target to treat triple negative breast cancer
patients.
“We are progressing in developing novel
drugs, and in a few years we will have some-
thing tangible,” Dr. Saikumar said regarding
his progress since receiving the Komen grant
two years ago. He emphasized that not only
will these drugs benefit those diagnosed with
development of hormone receptor negative
breast cancers. These drugs may even bene-
fit those diagnosed with other diseases, in-
cluding colon, lung and prostate cancer.
DIET AND CANCER
Dr. Amelie Ramirez, professor of epidemi-
ology and biostatistics and director of the In-
stitute for Health Promotion Research at the
University of Texas Health Science Center
San Antonio, is working on revolutionary
breast cancer research with her $225,000
Komen grant, awarded in 2014.
“We believe eating right plays a vital role
in helping reduce cancer risk,” Dr. Ramirez
said. The two-year study, called “Rx for Bet-
ter Breast Health,” will determine the effects
of nutritional anti-inflammatory diets on
breast cancer survivors by splitting a sample
of 150 randomly assigned breast cancer sur-
vivors into two groups: intervention and
control.
The intervention group will undergo six
monthly anti-inflammatory food work-
shops, including culinary demonstrations,
recipes, meal planning, and a “variety of as-
sistance and services from a patient naviga-
tor,” while the control group will receive
only generic cancer prevention information.