Plant compound shows promise against triple-negative breast cancer

Findings from a new cell study suggest that the natural plant compound sanguinarine could be a promising tool for targeting triple-negative breast cancer cells. The researchers also found that breast cancer cells derived from people with African American ancestry were more sensitive to sanguinarine than those of European origin.

"Triple negative breast cancer is especially aggressive in African American women, who are also more likely to develop this type of breast cancer than women of European descent," said Samia Messeha, PhD, a research associate in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. "There is intense interest in finding new therapeutic strategies to fight this cancer."

About 10-20% of breast cancers are triple-negative, which means the cancer lacks -- or is negative for -- receptors for estrogen or progesterone and doesn't make excess amounts of a protein called HER2. The absence of hormone receptors means these tumors don't respond to the hormone-based therapies used for other types of breast cancer.

Messeha will present the research at the END