Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Triple Negative Breast Cancer

During this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, San Diego BioMed would like to highlight the work being done by the ElShamy group to find therapies targeted at the most aggressive form of breast cancer, Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). TNBC, which accounts for 10-15% of all breast cancer diagnoses, is different from other types of cancer in that it tests negative for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 protein cells, meaning that hormonal and receptor treatments are not an option for patients. TNBC also tends to metastasize or migrate into different organs of the body early and frequently.

Dr. ElShamy’s work focuses on deciphering how two highly express proteins impact the microenvironment surrounding cancer cells in hopes to therapeutically target them to prevent TNBC formation and/or metastasis. The group has found that the BCRA1-IRIS and geminin proteins, create microenvironments that allow TNBC cells to grow and metastasize. These findings help to identify targets for future therapies, leading to more appropriate treatment plans and high survival rates for patients.