Breast cancer is among the most common and deadly diseases in women worldwide. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, it remains a difficult-to-treat disease with a high mortality rate. Therefore, the search for new compounds and therapies is essential to improve patient's survival and quality of life.
In this context, a multidisciplinary team from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ), a joint centre of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and Louisiana State University (LSU) in the USA, has demonstrated for the first time in breast cancer models the anti-tumour properties of structural analogues of different natural metabolites. Their results have been published in the journal Cancers.
Specifically, the work focuses on tanshinone IIA, isolated from the plant Salvia miltiorrhiza, and carnosol, found in rosemary (Salvia Rosmarinus). "Both compounds have shown anti-cancer activity in laboratory and in vivo tests. However, there are few studies on the pharmacological properties of the structural analogues of these molecules," says Miguel Angel González Cardenete, CSIC Senior Scientist at the Institute of Chemical Technology.
In their study, the ITQ researchers synthesised tanshinone and carnosol analogues from pine resin materials using a sustainable process. The team led by Professor Fatima Rivas (LSU) evaluated their anti-tumour activity in breast cancer cell lines, including models of triple-negative breast cancer (without estrogen and progesterone hormone receptors or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, HER2).
"This subtype of breast cancer is very aggressive, with rapid development and low survival rates, and because it lacks the three most common types of receptors, it does not respond to anti-hormone or anti-HER2 therapy, so there are few effective and costly chemotherapy treatments," says Fátima Rivas.
The results showed that several analogues inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation and increased programmed cell death at low concentrations, with moderate selectivity for non-tumour cells.
These findings suggest the potential of tanshinone and carnosol analogues for the development of new therapeutic agents against breast cancer. "However, further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of action fully and to validate the efficacy of these compounds in animal models and clinical trials before their potential application in the treatment of breast cancer," concludes Miguel Angel González Cardenete.
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