Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed an unusual nanotechnology approach that successfully inhibited the growth of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in preclinical experiments — without using chemotherapy, antibodies, or conventional anti-cancer drugs inside the nanoparticles.
Triple-negative breast cancer is considered one of the more challenging forms of breast cancer because its cells lack three common therapeutic targets: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and HER2.
This means that many hormonal and HER2-targeted treatments used successfully in other forms of breast cancer are not suitable for TNBC.
The Technion research team, led by Assistant Professor Assaf Zinger at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, approached the problem differently.
Instead of designing nanoparticles to carry medication directly into cancer cells, the scientists created particles called MPsomes that influence the tumor's surrounding biological environment.
Turning the Tumor Microenvironment Against Cancer
Tumors do not exist independently. They interact continuously with immune cells, blood vessels, connective tissue, and signaling molecules around them — collectively known as the tumor microenvironment.
Cancer cells can manipulate this environment to protect themselves from the immune system.
One example involves macrophages, immune cells whose normal role is to protect the body. Tumors can effectively “reprogram” some macrophages, causing them to support cancer growth instead of attacking it.
The Technion nanoparticles act as biological decoys. They compete for binding sites within the tumor environment and interfere with the recruitment of immune cells that would otherwise support tumor development.
Researchers tested the technology both in cell cultures and in mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer.
The nanoparticles accumulated around tumors at high concentrations and significantly inhibited tumor growth. According to the Technion, the effect in the preclinical experiments was comparable to that achieved by some existing treatments.
Another potential advantage is manufacturing. The researchers developed a process capable of producing the nanoparticles relatively rapidly, while much of the particle base consists of materials categorized by the FDA as Generally Recognized as Safe.
However, this remains a preclinical technology. Results obtained in laboratory models and mice cannot be assumed to work the same way in people.
Human clinical trials will be necessary to establish safety, appropriate dosing, and effectiveness before this technology could become an approved cancer treatment.
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and would like a consultation or second opinion from Israeli oncologists, contact Sapir Medical Clinic. We can help arrange specialist consultations, pathology review, molecular testing, diagnostics, and treatment in Israel.