Tucson Standard

A recent study published in Clinical Cancer Research has confirmed that tissue stiffening in HER2-negative breast cancer can directly lead to disease progression and metastasis. This research was a joint effort between the University of Arizona Health Sciences and clinicians in Spain.

The study, led by Dr. Miguel Quintela-Fandino at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center, assessed the MeCo Score, a diagnostic test developed at the University of Arizona. The findings suggest that this score could predict the likelihood of relapse or recurrence among early-stage breast cancer patients.

Patients with high MeCo Scores who received only standard chemotherapy had worse survival rates compared to those with low scores. However, adding antifibrotic therapy to chemotherapy minimized this difference. Specifically, antifibrotic therapy reduced the risk of recurrence by 62% for high MeCo Score patients over an average follow-up period of 9.7 years.

The connection between breast cancer progression to bone metastasis and fibrosis was initially described in a 2021 study published in Cell Reports by Ghassan Mouneimne from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and the Ginny L. Clements Breast Cancer Research Institute at the U of A Cancer Center. That study identified the MeCo Score as a prognostic biomarker for breast cancer, while this new research establishes it as a predictive biomarker for antifibrotic benefit in HER2-negative breast cancer patients.

"In the case of this collaboration with our colleagues in Spain, we were able to determine that a drug with no previously known benefit to breast cancer patients, an antifibrotic called nintedanib, led to better outcomes when used in conjunction with traditional chemotherapy," Mouneimne said. "The use of the MeCo Score was crucial to this effort."

Mouneimne is optimistic about gaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the MeCo Score but acknowledges more clinical validation is needed. He stated, "There's certainly a lot more work ahead of us, as it will require more clinical validation to get FDA approval," adding that "this really is a big step in the right direction."

Mouneimne's earlier work on fibrosis and advanced stages of breast cancer provided insights for developing the MeCo Score and led to launching MeCo Diagnostics LLC. This startup aims to advance technology for clinical use through collaboration with Tech Launch Arizona.

"We're hopeful that additional clinical confirmation of this discovery will firmly establish a new way to determine which patients may benefit from this fundamentally new therapeutic modality," Mouneimne said. He also noted that nintedanib is expected to become more affordable soon, potentially reducing breast cancer treatment costs.

"We are in the initial stages of planning a prospective, multicenter trial using the MeCo Score to guide nintedanib treatment in patients with luminal, ER-positive breast cancer," Mouneimne added.

Dr. Pavani Chalasani from George Washington Cancer Center will be leading this trial as principal investigator. The aim is for early biopsies using the MeCo Score to help decide if anti-fibrotic therapy would be beneficial before surgery.