The second research project in Spain on male breast cancer begins

The Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón) and the Male Breast Cancer Association (INVI) have just signed an agreement to launch the 'Antonio' ​​project, a pioneering research project worldwide.

The project led by Alberto J. Schuhmacher, ARAID at IIS Aragón, seeks to isolate cell lines from male patients with this cancer with the aim of developing specific experimental models for male breast cancer.

The objective is to accelerate the preclinical phases and find similarities and differences with breast cancer in women to impact the quality of life and survival of all patients.

Around 700 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in Spain each year, affecting about 11.000 individuals and assuming approximately the 1,5% of total cases of this type of cancer in the entire Spanish population. He 80% of these diagnoses are made in advanced stages (III-IV), with propagation and metastasis, due to ignorance and lack of awareness about the disease among men. The absence of detection programs, together with the perception of "low incidence", have generated a high percentage of late diagnoses compared to the female case. To fight this, The Health Research Institute of Aragón (IIS Aragón) and the Male Breast Cancer Association (INVI) have just signed an agreement to launch the second research project in our country on male breast cancer.

“With this second research project, we seek to delve deeper into male breast cancer, an entity that has historically been treated as a variant similar to breast cancer in women. However, with advances in research, we are discovering anatomical, pathological and disease evolution differences. In this new scenario, it is essential to expand our knowledge to develop specific protocols and address this disease with precision," he highlights. Màrius Soler, founder and president of the INVI Association.

The project led by Alberto J. Schuhmacher, ARAID researcher and head of the Molecular Oncology Group of the Aragón Health Research Institute, seeks to isolate cell lines from male breast cancer patients. The objective is to develop cellular models, mouse models xenografted with tumors and metastatic lines with tropism for certain organs to generate in vivo metastasis models. “The generation of all these models will allow therapies to be tested in preclinical phases. We will begin by evaluating the studies that we have underway in the group and that are being analyzed in breast cancer in samples derived from women,” adds Alberto J. Schuhmacher.

Thanks to clinical collaborators from the HU Miguel Servet and the Biobank of the Aragon Health System, the project has started. but we will seek to establish a network of collaborations with other hospitals and scientific societies. From samples of primary tumors of male patients with this disease, Cell lines and organoids will be isolated that can be implanted in the breast or flank of immunocompromised mice. Afterwards, primary tumor grafts will be performed if the sample allows it. “The lines generated will be marked with reporter and selection genes that allow their isolation. They will be implanted in the breast of mice and once they have grown, the primary tumor will be removed and we will wait for metastases to form. These will be dissected, cultured and isolated to later be grafted into the breast of new mice or using different routes that can favor their implantation in target organs,” the researcher clarifies. Once the models are established, they will be shared with the entire scientific community.

All of these advances are expected to provide a solid basis for the development of more effective therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing or treating the metastatic spread of cancer in general, and breast cancer in particular.. “The man who suffers from breast cancer should not be left out due to the lack of experimental models. This new research that we are launching will allow us to deepen our knowledge of this disease, find new diagnostic methods, biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets. The study of these models should accelerate preclinical phases and help find similarities and differences with breast cancer in women"All with the ultimate goal of impacting the quality of life and survival of all patients," conclude Schuhmacher and Soler.