Iss, a nano-drug could block breast cancer metastasis
About 37,000 women in Italy live with metastatic breast cancer
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Key points
2' min read
New hope from Italian research against metastatic breast cancer. A nano-drug developed in Italy has proved capable of blocking metastases in an animal model of the tumour. The study, published in the 'Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research' and financed by the Airc Foundation for Cancer Research, was conducted by a group of scientists from the Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, led by Ann Zeuner, in collaboration with the Universities of Siena and Bologna and the Mario Negri Irccs Pharmacological Research Institute in Milan.
The anti-cancer effect of the drug tested on mice
.'Our team,' emphasises Ann Zeuner, who coordinated the work together with Marta Baiocchi, 'has created a new formulation of a drug, fenretinide, that had previously shown poor efficacy due to problems of poor absorption. The new drug, called bionanophenretinide, consists of nanoparticles that are efficiently absorbed, achieving an anti-tumour effect that is particularly evident in mouse breast cancer metastases, in the absence of side effects. These promising results give us hope that the drug may in future be used in breast cancer therapy, in particular to prevent the formation of metastases and slow down those that have already formed'.
In Italy 37,000 women are living with metastatic breast cancer
Some 37,000 women in Italy are living with metastatic breast cancer. And identifying new effective therapies is one of the objectives of Airc's 'Pink Ribbon' campaign, recalls the Iss on its website. Thanks to donations and the work of volunteers, in 2024 the Foundation supported breast cancer research with more than EUR 14 million through the funding of scholarships and projects.
Regular checks, healthy eating and physical activity to reduce the risk of disease
'In parallel with the search for new therapies,' Zeuner recalls, 'it is very important for women who have had breast cancer to undergo regular check-ups and implement lifestyle changes. Healthy eating, regular physical activity and stress reduction improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of the disease recurring in the future'.
