Triple-negative breast cancer brain metastasis: An update on druggable targets, current clinical trials, and future treatment options

• Published in: Drug discovery today 2022-05, Vol.27 (5), p.1298-1314
• Main Authors: Nakhjavani, Maryam, Samarasinghe, Rasika M., Shigdar, Sarah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aptamer; Brain metastasis; Brain Neoplasms - drug therapy; Drug Delivery Systems; Drug development; Humans; Nanoparticle; Novel drug delivery systems; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Triple-negative breast cancer
• ISSN: 1359-6446; 1878-5832
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.01.010

[Display omitted] •Treatment of brain metastasis is very challenging, due to the role of blood–brain barrier.•Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks targeted therapy and is challenging to treat.•We have reviewed the current treatments for TNBC-BM.•We have also discussed several novel drug delivery methods for TNBC-BM. The key challenges with the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer brain metastasis (TNBC-BM) are the lack of any targeted therapy and difficulties associated with drug delivery to the brain. These add to the high toxicity profile of existing treatments and the poor outcomes for patient. In this review, we introduce current drugs based on their molecular targets and look to improve brain drug delivery using more efficient and promising drug delivery systems. We describe ongoing clinical trials on druggable targets in TNBC-BM for a more targeted treatment and introduce the obstacles hindering drug delivery to the brain, bringing strategies and advancing knowledge for future steps in the treatment of patients with TNBC-BM.