TransCode Therapeutics has published new data supporting the use of TTX-MC138 for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The lead therapeutic candidate, designed to inhibit microRNA-10b, has been shown to impair the capacity of cancer stem cells to create new tumors and become metastatic in breast cancer cells. Inhibiting these cells could improve outcomes in patients with recurrent and resistant breast cancer. TransCode recently received FDA and IRB approval for a first-in-human clinical trial with TTX-MC138 in up to 12 patients with advanced solid cancers.
The study shows that inhibition of microRNA-10b, the therapeutic target of TTX-MC138, in breast cancer cells impaired the capacity of cancer stem cells to create new tumors and become metastatic. TransCode believes that these findings are important because cancer stem cells have long been known to play a critical role in cancer initiation, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to therapy. Therefore, inhibiting the tumor-promoting capacity of these cells using TTX-MC138 could improve outcomes in patients with breast cancer that is recurrent and resistant to treatment.