Inhibiting Fatty Acid Synthase to Improve Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2021-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In preliminary laboratory science studies, the investigators show that proton pump inhibitors
(PPIs) effectively inhibit human fatty acid synthase (FASN) and breast cancer cell survival.
A preliminary retrospective study shows that PPI usage in breast cancer patients during
chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival. The impact was most striking in
patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Thus, PPIs may be repositioned as safe
and effective breast cancer drugs to enhance the effect of chemotherapy.
Many of the hurdles that slow progress from target, to lead compound, to investigational
agent, to standard therapy are not barriers for the PPIs. The PPIs are FDA-approved,
chronically used, and well tolerated so the investigators can move quickly from the
laboratory to a proof of concept clinical trial. Incorporating the PPIs into standard care
will require more than the investigators propose here, but the investigators have already
plotted the additional steps needed to truly impact patient care. If successful, the data
gathered in this proposal will lend support to and guide development of a definitive
randomized trial.