New Hope For Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients !

A study published in Nature Medicine revealed a revolutionary new approach to fighting metastatic breast cancer.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, the University Hospitals of Basel and Zurich, and the Basel-Land Cantonal Hospital have discovered a way to significantly reduce the risk of metastasis in patients with metastasis breast cancer. The research focused on targeting circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters, which play a pivotal role in the spread of cancer to distant organs. These clusters, often consisting of just a few cells, are critical drivers of metastasis: the larger the cluster, the higher the likelihood of it forming new, deadly tumors.

In a clinical study, the researchers administered the drug digoxin at a low and safe dosage for one week to nine patients with metastatic breast cancer. And The results were remarkable—on average, the number of cells per CTC cluster dropped by 2.2 cells, a substantial reduction given that typical clusters often contain only a handful of cells. This fragmentation of clusters represents a dramatic decrease in their metastatic potential, marking a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer progression.
The Achilles' heel of CTC clusters are the sodium-potassium pumps, which are located in the membranes of tumor cells and are responsible for transporting sodium out of the cells and potassium into them. Digoxin blocks these ion pumps and thus suppresses the ion exchange. The cells therefore absorb more calcium from the outside of the cell membrane. This weakens the cohesion of the cancer cells in the cluster, causing them to fall apart.

However, digoxin alone does not eliminate the existing tumor. The agent would have to be administered in combination with other substances that kill existing cancer cells.
“And that’s not all—researchers are already working to take this discovery even further. They aim to develop new, improved molecules based on digoxin that can dissolve CTC clusters even more effectively, The E T H spin-off, Page Therapeutics actively advancing this solution. Additionally, Principal Investigator Nicola Aceto and his team are expanding this approach to target other types of cancer that spread, such as prostate, colorectal, pancreatic cancer, and melanoma. Initial experiments are already underway, bringing us closer to new possibilities in the fight against metastasis.