Michael F. Clarke, MD

Identifying effective methods for targeting cancer stem cells which play a significant role in breast cancer recurrence and metastasis.

Impact

Despite advances in the early detection and treatment of breast cancer, many patients will experience a recurrence, sometimes years after the treatment of their primary cancer. Dr. Clarke’s laboratory was the first to identify breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) as major contributors to metastasis—the spread of breast cancer to distant sites. CSCs are also potential drivers of recurrence because of their ability to survive cancer therapy and lie dormant for many years. CSCs are a minor population within tumors but eliminating them may be required to prevent cancer from returning. Dr. Clarke and his team focus on identifying new therapeutic targets that will specifically eliminate breast CSCs and biomarkers that signal which patients are at risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Progress Thus Far

A major challenge in developing therapies targeting CSCs is that they are very similar to normal stem cells. Hence, new treatments must be specific to the CSCs to avoid serious side effects. Dr. Clarke’s team recently identified a new biomarker that is a regulator of CSCs to identify patients who likely will not respond to treatment after surgery. They are continuing to advance their work by developing small molecules that target CSCs to treat triple-negative breast cancer tumors highly resistant to current therapies.

What’s next

In the next year, Dr. Clarke’s team will continue investigating potential biomarkers that identify patients who will need post-surgical therapy to prevent recurrence. They will also continue their effort to develop the small molecule inhibitors that may lead to potential clinical compounds. Understanding how breast cancer overcomes therapeutics, even those that regulate immunity, will provide the team with key insights into developing their new therapeutic strategies.