Triple negative breast cancer accounts for 12-24% of all breast cancers. This form of breast cancer is characterized by its aggressiveness, worse prognosis and lack of targeted therapies. Despite various treatment modalities, overall survival of patients diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer has only shown minimal improvements over the past 30 years. My work has recently shown that expression of a protein, called CD73, plays an important role in the progression and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer. We now have preliminary data that suggest that CD73 inhibits chemotherapy. This project proposes to investigate the mechanism by which CD73 inhibits chemotherapy. We will also test if blockade of CD73, using a small-inhibitor or a monoclonal antibody, enhances breast cancer therapy.

This research project is jointly funded with the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.