Scientists have uncovered a key driver of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) progression—a metabolic enzyme called LPCAT1—and developed a targeted nanoparticle therapy to block it. By silencing LPCAT1, the treatment disrupts cancer cell energy production and halts tumor growth and lung metastasis in TNBC, the most aggressive breast cancer subtype. This breakthrough offers a promising new strategy for treating advanced TNBC, which currently has limited therapeutic options.

South African scientists have identified two new breast cancer genes—RAB27A and USP22—in Black women, marking the first GWAS of its kind on the continent. This breakthrough highlights the need for Africa-centred genomic research and tools to improve cancer risk prediction and treatment.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a series of changes in the architecture and cell composition of connective tissues of the breast, known as stromal tissue, that is associated with an increased risk of developing aggressive breast cancer among women with benign breast disease, and poorer rates of survival among women with invasive breast cancer. This process, which they call stromal disruption, could potentially be used as a biomarker to identify women with benign breast disease who are at high risk of developing aggressive breast cancers, as well as those with breast cancer who may be at increased risk of recurrence or death.

A new treatment approach significantly improves survival rates for patients with aggressive, inherited breast cancers, according to Cambridge researchers. In a trial where cancers were treated with chemotherapy followed by a targeted cancer drug before surgery, 100% of patients survived the critical three-year period post-surgery.