Research from Dr Oliver Pearce, Dr Priyanka Hirani and their team at Barts Cancer Institute, have discovered that different forms of a protein called Versican can either block, or support, the entry of cancer-killing immune cells into tumours in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
TNBC is one of the most challenging types of breast cancer to treat as it grows rapidly and does not respond to therapies often used in other types of breast cancer, such as hormone therapy. However, new clinical trials, including work led by Barts, have shown immunotherapies, which help our immune system to fight cancer, can give real benefit to some TNBC patients.
However, our immune system ‘army’, which includes cytotoxic ‘killer’ T-cells, can have their cancer-fighting actions blunted, as the tumour can create a barrier to block their entry. This barrier is formed from a structure called the extracellular matrix which maintains the shape of our tissues. Dr. Hirani, who recently completed her PhD in Dr Pearce’s lab, found that in TNBC tissues, areas of the extracellular matrix with large amounts of Versican had low numbers of T-cells.
Furthermore, through a collaboration with the University of Washington, USA, Dr. Hirani and team used cutting-edge mass spectrometry to show that the pattern of carbohydrate chains attached to versican determined whether it functioned to help, or hinder the entry of T-cells into the tumour. This study was published in Cancer Res Communications.
Dr. Pearce and Dr. Hirani suggest that using an enzyme to remove carbohydrate chains from Versican could allow T-cells to access the tumour more easily, allowing immunotherapies to provide greater clinical benefit to patients. Further research on the role of Versican in breast and other cancers is ongoing.
Full story: Versican and triple negative breast cancer.
This work was funded by Barts Charity, Cancer Research UK and Against Breast Cancer.