"New Therapeutic Target For ER-Positive Breast Cancer Shows Promise" - Marilynn Larkin
Protein tyrosine kinase 6 (PTK6) inhibition might one day be an effective treatment for ER+ breast cancers, given the enzyme’s role as a promoter of growth and survival in such cancers, researchers suggest. Hanna Irie, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, hematology, medical oncology and oncological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said that she decided to explore the role of PTK6 in ER+ breast cancers after her group’s previous study showed that PTK6 inhibition suppressed metastases in a model of triple-negative breast cancer. For the current study, the team investigated the functions of PTK6 in ER+ breast cancer cells, including those resistant to estrogen deprivation or commonly used targeted endocrine therapies. They conclude that the findings “support PTK6 as an attractive therapeutic target for ER+ breast cancers. We’re excited to move to the next level,” she said, “and project that it will be about six years before we might do the first feasibility studies.”
- Hanna Y. Irie, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medicine, Hematology, Medical Oncology, Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai