Doctoral Degrees (Nuclear Medicine)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Nuclear Medicine) by Author "Hamunyela, Roswita Hambeleleni"

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    Evaluation of small molecule inhibitors of HER2, PI3K, mTOR and Bcl-2 for their radiomodulatory effects in human breast cancer cell lines
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12) Hamunyela, Roswita Hambeleleni; Akudugu, John M.; Serafin, Antonio Mendes; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Science. Dept. of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology. Nuclear Medicine.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. It is responsible for 32% of all cancers and 15% of all cancer-related deaths in females. Patients with triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) constitute about one-fifth of all breast cancer patients. TNBC is an aggressive and heterogeneous disease entity in comparison with other types of breast cancer and, therefore, tends to be resistant to existing treatment regimens, such as, targeted and hormone therapies. Although cancer treatment has evolved from being invasive and highly toxic to being more specific with reduced normal tissue toxicity, intrinsic tumor resistance still limits the benefit of therapy with radiation, drugs, and antibodies. To address this important clinical challenge, attempts have been made to better understand the molecular determinants of treatment resistance. This resistance can be attributed to the heterogeneity in the distribution of potential target antigens in a given tumor cell population, which leads to the inability to effectively target all cells with toxic levels of a particular therapeutic agent. There is evidence to suggest that proliferative pathways of triple-negative tumors are still poorly understood, which could be the reason for the observed treatment resistance. Targeted treatment modalities that are singly effective for triple-negative breast cancer are lacking, partly due to paucity of relevant targets as they are devoid of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), progesterone receptor (PR), and oestrogen receptor (ER). Novel treatment approaches are, therefore, needed to overcome the challenges in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers if treatment outcomes are to be improved. Concomitant targeting of cell signaling entities other than HER2, PR and ER may sensitize triple-negative tumors to radiotherapy. In this study, inhibition of HER2, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and the pro-survival gene (Bcl-2) with small molecule inhibitors, TAK-165 (against HER2), NVP-BEZ235 (against PI3K and mTOR), and ABT-263 (against Bcl-2), singly or as cocktails, resulted in significant radio sensitization of human breast cell lines with features similar to those of triple negative cancers. This radio sensitization was seen at 2 and 6 Gy, indicating that a therapeutic benefit could be derived in conventional as well as stereotactic radiotherapy. A moderate to strong synergism was also demonstrated for NVPBEZ235/TAK-165 and NVP-BEZ235/ABT-263 cocktails. The strongest synergy was seen in the latter cocktail. In conclusion, inhibition of PI3K, mTOR and Bcl-2 could potentially be effective in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. The therapeutic benefit can be improved, if the target inhibition is followed by radiotherapy.