Shrikanth S. Gadad, Ph.D., an assistant professor in TTUHSC El Paso’s Center of Emphasis in Cancer, is conducting research that could lead to a treatment that uses the immune system to fight triple-negative breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women, but it is the primary cause of cancer death among Hispanic women, according to the National Cancer Institute. The Center of Emphasis in Cancer focuses on cancers prevalent in the majority-Hispanic Borderland, seeking new strategies for the prevention and treatment of the deadly disease.
Triple-negative breast cancer is fast spreading and often does not respond well to chemotherapy used for other types of invasive breast cancers. This leads to worse outcomes in patients diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer and is why Dr. Gadad and his research team are investigating new treatments based on immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is now the front-line treatment for many solid tumors and uses a person’s immune system to find and destroy cancer cells.
“The current standard of care for triple-negative breast cancer patients is to administer DNA-damaging agents, found in cancer treatment drugs and chemotherapy. However, a majority of triple-negative breast cancers recur and become unresponsive to these drugs.” Dr. Gadad said. “By understanding the causes of triple-negative breast cancer among Hispanic women, we may be able to identify new prognostic and therapeutic interventions for this advanced disease using the body’s own immune system, rather than DNA-damaging drugs.”
By understanding the causes of triple-negative breast cancer among Hispanic women, we may be able to identify new prognostic and therapeutic interventions for this advanced disease using the body’s own immune system, rather than DNA-damaging drugs.”
Shrikanth S. Gadad, Ph.D., an assistant professor in TTUHSC El Paso’s Center of Emphasis in Cancer
Dr. Gadad’s research focuses on tumor-associated antigens that hold promise as therapeutic targets for triple-negative breast cancer. A tumor-associated antigen is a substance produced by cancer cells, which can be targeted by a person’s immune system to find and eradicate cancer cells.
His team is attempting to determine the antigens’ role in tumor growth and identify, at the molecular level, the way the antigen affects cellular functions in triple-negative breast cancer.
El Paso County
El Paso County has a breast cancer incidence rate of 106 cases per 100,000 women, which is lower than Texas’ overall rate of 113 per 100,000 women. However, El Paso County’s breast cancer incidence rate trended upward over the past decade, according to NCI statistics tracked by Healthy Paso del Norte.
A significant number of breast cancer cases in Hispanic women are triple-negative breast cancers, so named because they test negative for two hormone receptors and a protein that affect the growth of cancer cells.
Dr. Gadad is available to speak on his research related to breast cancer.
(LS/Newswise)
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