Triple-negative breast cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer accounting for approximately 10-25% of all breast cancer cases. Due to the lack of three hormone receptors found on breast cancer cells, TNBCs do not respond to the traditional hormone therapies that have high success rates for other types of breast cancers. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy are common treatments for TNBC patients, however success is often limited by acquired resistance, cumulative toxicity and high rates of recurrence.
A new narrative review examines the role of natural compounds in targeting TNBC and their potential synergistic use to improve therapeutic efficacy while reducing treatment-related toxicity. The paper highlights natural compounds as under utilised resources in TNBC therapy and identifies capacity for targeting dysregulated pathways, counteracting resistance mechanisms, and complementing existing oncology treatments.
Among the natural compounds highlighted, fucoidan is identified as a promising marine-derived bioactive with multifunctional benefits in the context of TNBC. The review summarises a number of previous studies, noting that fucoidan has shown growth inhibitory effects in TNBC cells, while exerting produced anti-migratory and anti-invasive activities. Fucoidans have also been shown to promote apoptotic cell death, disrupt cell cycle regulatory pathways, exhibit cytotoxic effects, and elevate IL-6 levels while reducing immunosuppressive and pro-metastatic mediators.
Marinova’s high purity Fucus vesiculosus fucoidan has previously been loaded into nanoparticles along with the anti-cancer medication dasatinib. The nanoparticles resulted in a higher apoptosis index and increased cytotoxic potential in a TNBC cancer cell model (Saren, 2024).
The full paper, ‘Bioactive natural compounds in triple-negative breast cancer: Molecular target and therapeutic perspectives,’ was published in the journal Pharmaceuticals.