Changing the tumor environment to prevent relapse and lung spread in triple negative breast cancer
Official title: Therapeutic targeting of the tumor microenvironment in triple negative breast cancer patients at high risk of relapse and preclinical models of lung metastases
Funded at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic · NIH-11306075 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project gives a long‑term copper‑lowering medicine called tetrathiomolybdate to people with high‑risk triple negative breast cancer alongside standard chemotherapy and immunotherapy to help stop cancer from coming back.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lebanon, United States) |
| Project start | March 19, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $428,593 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA290013-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11306075 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with triple‑negative breast cancer judged at high risk of relapse (for example, residual cancer burden class 2 after surgery) who are eligible for adjuvant capecitabine and pembrolizumab.
✕Less likely to help
People with other breast cancer subtypes, low relapse risk, or medical conditions that prevent long‑term copper‑lowering therapy are unlikely to benefit.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll get a copper‑lowering drug called tetrathiomolybdate for three years in addition to the usual six months of capecitabine and pembrolizumab after surgery. The idea is that lowering copper disrupts tumor‑supporting bone marrow cells, enzymes like LOX, collagen remodeling, and cancer cell energy use so that fewer cancer cells can settle and grow in the lungs or elsewhere. Earlier Phase II work in 75 breast cancer patients showed reduced circulating VEGFR2+ EPCs, over 50% lower LOX levels, normalization of collagen, good tolerability, and few relapses after four years on the drug. This small Phase Ib trial will focus on safety and signs that adding the copper‑lowering drug lowers relapse risk in people with high‑risk triple negative breast cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce the chance of recurrence and lung metastases in high‑risk triple negative breast cancer by altering the tumor‑supporting environment.
How similar studies have gone: A prior Phase II trial of tetrathiomolybdate in 75 high‑risk breast cancer patients showed promising biological effects and good tolerability, but combining it with capecitabine and pembrolizumab is a new approach.
Where this research is happening
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Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic
Lebanon, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vahdat, Linda Theresa — Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic
- Study coordinator: Vahdat, Linda Theresa
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Targeting the tumor environment in patients with aggressive breast cancer to prevent relapse
This study is looking at how a drug called tetrathiomolybdate can help people with triple negative breast cancer by lowering copper levels in the body, which might stop the cancer from spreading, and it will involve patients taking this drug along with their usual treatments to see if it helps prevent the cancer from c
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Genomic study to understand how genetics and epigenetics shape triple-negative breast cancer in African ancestry
This study looks at how inherited genes and gene activity affect triple-negative breast cancer in people of African ancestry to better understand why outcomes can be worse.
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Researchers will study how dormant cancer cells in liver and skin metastases of triple-negative breast cancer become quiescent or wake up, using organ-on-chip models and single-cell analysis to map chromatin states.
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Rac-enhanced CAR-Macrophages against TNBC
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.