Combination Therapy with Radiotherapy, Immune Checkpoint Blockade, and Curaxin Enhances Tumor Regression in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease that is often resistant to single-agent therapy. High-dose radiation (HDRT) delivered to a primary tumor has been shown to elicit a systemic immune reaction, resulting in shrinkage of distant metastatic deposits. Low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) is also immunogenic and can be combined with agents inducing immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) to exploit the body’s native defenses against tumors. Curaxin is a newly developed anti-cancer drug that stimulates an immune response by activating a process called necroptosis. The capacity of curaxin to activate intense immune-mediated cellular activity in tumors makes it suitable for combination with LDRT and ICB as a part of an augmented defense against cancers that have spread from their site of origin. Our study will test the benefits of the HDRT/LDRT-ICB-curaxin combination in a mouse model of metastatic TNBC. This could lead to preliminary trials of these treatment combinations in patients.
