When Cancer Knows No Bounds, Our Pursuit of Science Must be Limitless

I was 17 years old when my grandfather was diagnosed with lymphoma. His passing within a year left a profound sense of loss in our family and opened my eyes to the devastating effects of cancer on patients and their families. This loss inspired me to take an interest in science and ultimately pursue a career in medicine and oncology. In my work, I have regularly witnessed the fear and heartbreak families endure when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer and lives are threatened or shortened by the disease.

Almost twenty years ago, when a close friend died of metastatic breast cancer at a young age, leaving behind a devastated husband and several adoring children, I felt the immense tragedy that can be unleashed by a diagnosis of metastatic cancer in a profoundly personal way. I was moved by the loss experienced by her family and deeply saddened to think of the beauty she could have continued to contribute to the world had she not died so young.

My personal experiences, including those of friends and loved ones, have deeply shaped my lifelong desire to make an impact on the lives of people with cancer through the research and development of innovative science. It is the boundless potential of science that fuels my optimism and hope for continued progress in cancer treatment.

In breast cancer treatment specifically, the momentum is palpable. Thanks to the advent of early detection and new therapies over the last two decades, the death rate from breast cancer has dropped 43% from 1989 to 2020, according to the American Cancer Society.1 Recent therapeutic advancements for metastatic breast cancer, where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, have also increased survival rates, with more people living longer than ever before.2 When I began my professional training, breast cancer was treated with non-specific chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Now, some decades later, many targeted and more tolerable therapies are the standard of care, and for most patients, chemotherapy is a treatment of last resort.3

While we have taken important steps in the way we treat breast cancer, we have only glimpsed a fraction of what science may have to offer for changing patient outcomes. Judging from the wealth of knowledge and insights recently shared at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), we are headed in the right direction. Like many researchers and physicians in attendance at SABCS, I felt energized by the innovative research presented by internationally recognized cancer scientists; particularly promising clinical and translational studies focused on novel early developmental-stage therapies for estrogen receptor (ER) positive / human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative (ER+/HER2-) locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

The treatment of ER+/HER2- breast cancer is also a focus of the work being performed by our team at Arvinas, as part of our efforts to tap into the potential of protein degradation to further drug development. Leveraging our PROTAC (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera) protein degrader platform, we are pioneering the development of protein degradation therapies designed to harness the body’s natural protein disposal system to selectively and efficiently degrade and remove disease-causing proteins.

As a scientist who has dedicated my life’s work to researching and developing potentially transformational therapies that aim to improve patients’ lives, I am enormously excited by the progress of our industry. In addition to breast cancer, Arvinas’ pipeline has bold potential to transform the treatment of lymphoma, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer, as well as neurodegenerative diseases, such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Indeed, I believe we are headed in the right direction in the treatment of cancer and remain hopeful and optimistic that we can help create a better future for patients and families through continued research.

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1.????? American Cancer Society. (2022, October 3). New ACS Report: Decrease in Breast Cancer Mortality Rate Continues; Wide Gap for Black Women Remains Stagnant. https://pressroom.cancer.org/BCFF2022

2.????? Conger, Krista. (2024, January 17). Metastatic breast cancer treatments have aided decline in deaths, Stanford Medicine-led study finds. Stanford Medicine. ?https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2024/01/breast-cancer-deaths.html

3.????? Ferro, A., et al. (2024). Novel treatment strategies for hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(12), 3611. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13123611

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