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Updated: Feb 6, 2026
Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
Pathway-Based Drug Repositioning for Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes
Raúl A Mejía-Pedroza1, Jesús Espinal-Enríquez1,2, Enrique Hernández-Lemus1,2
1Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.
Abstract:
Breast cancer is a major public health problem which treatment needs new pharmacological options. In the last decades, during the postgenomic era new theoretical and technological tools that give us novel and promising ways to address these problems have emerged. In this work, we integrate several tools that exploit disease-specific experimental transcriptomic results in addition to information from biological and pharmacological data bases obtaining a contextual prioritization of pathways and drugs in breast cancer subtypes. The usefulness of these results should be evaluated in terms of drug repurposing in each breast cancer molecular subtype therapy. In favor of breast cancer patients, this methodology could be further developed to provide personalized treatment schemes. The latter are particularly needed in those breast cancer subtypes with limited therapeutic options or those who have developed resistance to the current pharmacological schemes.
Insights
This study introduces a new method to identify potential breast cancer treatments by analyzing gene expression data and drug databases. This approach aids in discovering new uses for existing drugs for personalized breast cancer therapy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Bioinformatics
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Breast cancer presents a significant public health challenge requiring novel therapeutic strategies.
- The post-genomic era offers advanced tools for understanding and treating complex diseases like breast cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a computational methodology for identifying prioritized therapeutic targets and drugs for breast cancer subtypes.
- To leverage transcriptomic data and biological databases for drug repurposing in breast cancer treatment.
Main Methods:
- Integration of disease-specific experimental transcriptomic data.
- Utilizing biological and pharmacological databases for information retrieval.
- Contextual prioritization of biological pathways and drugs specific to breast cancer subtypes.
Main Results:
- Identification of prioritized pathways and drugs tailored to distinct breast cancer molecular subtypes.
- Demonstration of a framework for evaluating drug repurposing potential in breast cancer therapy.
Conclusions:
- The developed methodology offers a promising approach for drug repurposing in breast cancer.
- This strategy can be advanced to create personalized treatment plans, especially for subtypes with limited options or drug resistance.
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