Drug kills breast tumor cells after chemo

HOUSTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. medical researchers say they've developed an experimental cancer drug that kills breast tumor cells that survive chemotherapy.

Dr. Jenny Chang of the Baylor College of Medicine and a lead investigator of the research, along with scientists from the University of Michigan, said in both animal and patient studies the drug eliminated chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer stem cells -- cells that could potentially refuel tumor growth.

"In previous studies, we have identified a genetic pathway -- called the Notch pathway -- as a top target for eliminating these tumor-initiating, breast cancer stem cells," Chang said. "Now, we have found a compound that inhibits activation of this pathway, reducing the number of tumor-initiating or cancer-causing cells that come from the original tumor."

She said the next step is to take the drug into larger studies involving patients.

"If what we believe is true, we would eventually start using this therapy earlier in treatment," said Chang.

The research was presented last week in San Antonio during a breast cancer symposium sponsored by the Cancer Therapy Research Center and American Association for Cancer Research.