A promising combination therapy for triple-negative breast cancer (Commonly available (and cheap) meds cyclophosphamide and CSFR1 Inhibitors (such as Gleevec) together let B and T cells enter tumors)

Medical Xpress / Baylor College of Medicine / Cancer Research ^ | Apr. 27, 2022 | Molly Chiu / Swarnima Singh et al

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers have identified a combination therapy for treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) that results in durable tumor regression in an animal model of the condition.

The combination therapy attacked the tumor on two fronts. On one side, the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide eliminated tumor cells, while on the other front, another drug inhibited tumor-associated cells called macrophages, which block the body's immune response against the tumor. This two-front strategy effectively treated several highly aggressive TNBC primary tumors and metastasis.

The team had previously shown in animal models that although treating the tumors with cyclophosphamide eliminated the cancer initially, the disease came back eventually. A closer look into the tumor microenvironment revealed that the tumors that returned typically had many macrophages.

"In this study, we explored the possibility that eliminating both the tumor cells and the macrophages would improve the chances of eliminating the tumor for a longer period of time," said Swarnima Singh, first author. "We eliminated macrophages with either a small molecule inhibitor or a monoclonal antibody toward CSF1R, a marker on these cells."

"We were very encouraged by the results," Singh said. "Typically, a month after stopping single-drug treatment, the tumors returned. We were excited to see that the tumors did not return a month after stopping the combination therapy. We observed a durable response in two animal models of TNBC."

Interestingly, the animals with a durable response were able to prevent new tumors from growing. "We challenged these animals with fresh tumor cells, and 40% of them rejected them. The tumors did not grow. This suggested that the animals had immune memory capable of fighting back new tumor growth. In addition to primary tumors, we also treated lung tumor metastasis with combination therapy and found that it also eliminated cancer growth effectively."

[ConservativeMind]

Both types of drugs are no more than a few hundred dollars each from pharmacies; however, the specific anti-CSFR1 or small molecule inhibitor used with cyclophosphamide is behind a paywall.

[ConservativeMind]

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