Interesting research re Her2

[Soccermom]

John Mendelsohn, MD








Professor and President
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX


2007-2008 BCRF Project:
Co-Investigator: Zhen Fan, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) is a bioactive protein drug currently used in the clinic for alleviating cancer- or cancer chemotherapy-related anemia and fatigue in cancer patients, including breast cancer patients, owing to its effects on stimulating the production of red blood cells by prolonging the survival of their precursors in the bone marrow.
Controversy has arisen recently as some emerging evidence suggested that certain breast cancer cells also express EPO receptors (the specific cell membrane proteins through which the biologic information of EPO is transmitted into cells). Recombinant EPO may act on breast cancer cells and red blood cell precursors in a similar way. Therefore, recombinant EPO may protect breast cancer cells from various cytotoxic treatments by activating the receptor of EPO in breast cancer cells and, as a result, prolonging breast cancer cell survival.
Over the past year, Drs. Mendelsohn and Fan focused on demonstration of specific cell signaling activated by EPO in breast cancer cells, and evaluated the extent to which EPO plays a negative role in breast cancer responses to trastuzumab treatment. It is expected that successful completion of the planned studies will provide important guidance as to whether recombinant EPO is safe to be used concurrently with trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer patients whose tumors are also positive for the receptor of EPO. This is a very important issue, and the knowledge generated from this research will be of great value to the clinical management of breast cancer and will ultimately benefit patients. Mid-Year Progress Report:
Resistance of some HER2-overexpressing breast cancer patients to Herceptin (an antibody drug approved for treating patients with HER2-positive breast cancer) remains a challenge in clinical practice. BCRF finding enabled the Fan/Mendelsohn research team to address this challenge by exploring whether concurrent administration of erythropoietin (a drug frequently used in the clinics to treat chemotherapy-induced anemia and fatigue in cancer patients) has a role in causing poor responses of some breast cancer patients to Herceptin.
Funding for this project is from the BCRF.