Taxol treatment in breast cancer

Sonia Silva

Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) da Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Microtubules are polymer structures that play a crucial role in cellular processes that are often dysregulated in tumour cells, making them a highly effective target for oncological treatments. Drugs that target these structures, such as Taxol, alter their normal function, preventing tumour cells from dividing and proliferating. This is why these drugs are effective in chemotherapy treatments. However, they are associated with severe side effects and tumours often develop resistance to this type of drugs, leading to metastasis, which remains the primary cause of patient mortality.

In recent research, the project team has discovered a causal relationship between specific modifications of tubulins, the building blocks of microtubules, and the degree of sensitivity of tumour cells to Taxol.

This project aims to identify new compounds that can alter a critical modification experienced by tubulins, thereby increasing their sensitivity to Taxol-based chemotherapy. The ultimate goal is to develop new, more effective personalised treatment strategies to treat breast cancer, while reducing the deleterious side effects of Taxol.

Improving taxol response through the manipulation of the cancer tubulin code

Stage 1