Abstract

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in women in the US. In addition, 20% of all breast cancer cases in the U.S. are from the subtype known as Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), which is the most aggressive and invasive form of the disease. This type of breast cancer has the worst prognosis, a decreased survival rate, and no targeted therapy. Over the decades, interest in pre- (Neoadjuvant) and post- (Adjuvant) chemotherapy treatments, in the management of TNBC has increased. Therefore, we evaluated the Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant effects of anti-telomerases (BIBR 1532 and GV6) with anthracycline-based (Doxorubicin) chemotherapy. In the initial (Neoadjuvant) experiment, MDA-MB-231 (TNBC) cells were supplemented with BIBR 1532 (n=4) or GV6 (n=4-6) for 14 days, then exposed to Doxorubicin (n=4) for 7 days. In the second (Adjuvant) experiment, cells were primed with Doxorubicin for 7 days (n=4) prior to 14 days of BIBR 1532 (n=4) or GV6 (n=4) therapy. The Trypan Blue (Gibco) exclusion test was used to assess the viability of the cells. After 14 days of Neoadjuvant treatment with BIBR1532, followed by 7 days of doxorubicin treatment, the cell density decreased to 59% of control (p<0.05). Adjuvant treatment with BIBR 1532 or GV6 had limited effect on the proliferation rate of MDA-MB-231 cells. A higher (p<0.05) percent of dead cells was observed in BIBR1532 adjuvant therapy with doxorubicin. These data indicates that neoadjuvant therapy with anti-telomerase in conjunction with anthracycline-based chemotherapy does have beneficial effects and warrants further investigation.