This Clinical Trial is Testing a Pill for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

A groundbreaking clinical trial is set to launch that could potentially change the landscape of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment, especially for Black women who are disproportionately affected by this aggressive form of breast cancer. Dr. Linda Vahdat, a breast cancer medical oncologist at Dartmouth Cancer Center, is spearheading a study that aims to prevent cancer recurrence in TNBC patients using a novel approach: copper depletion. The trial, which is expected to begin in September 2024, will test whether a copper depletion pill called tetrathiomolybdate (TM) can prevent metastasis in TNBC patients who have residual disease after standard treatment. This innovative approach comes after 15 years of research by Dr. Vahdat and her team. “We figured out how it worked,” Dr. Vahdat explained. “Basically, breast cancer cells are just hanging out. They don’t know how to get from point A to point B. So what it does, it has mastered hijacking infrastructure in order to spread and grow.” The copper depletion pill works by binding to the copper we ingest through our diet, preventing cancer cells from using it to spread. Dr. Vahdat likens it to a pool of copper in the body: “We want that by the time that...