Robert Benezra, PhD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Tumors need a blood supply to grow over a minimal size. Dr. Benezra and his colleagues were able to develop a new drug that interferes with the generation of new blood vessels in the breast tumor environment. This new drug is comprised of two parts that fulfill different tasks: a small protein domain that selectively homes to the blood vessel cells in the breast tumor and another group that selectively shuts off the productions of a protein that is necessary for the blood vessels to assemble properly. Treatment with the drug yielded poorly functioning vessels and a high degree of stress due to oxygen deprivation in the tumor. Furthermore, it dramatically enhanced the response of the tumor towards mild chemotherapeutic intervention leading to complete regressions of an aggressive mammary tumor in laboratory models. In the coming year, the scientists will work towards extending these findings into spontaneous tumor models in order to assess their likelihood of clinical success.