Triple Negative Breast Cancer: How Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists Could Be Used as a New Therapeutic Approach

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among females. BC cells not showing HER-2/Neu amplification and not expressing estrogen/ progesterone receptors are named triple-negative BC (TNBC) cells. TNBC represents 10-15% of all BC and is associated with an aggressive clinical course. TNBC patient prognosis, survival and response to current therapies are poor and for this reason, it is crucial to search for new therapeutic targets in TNBC to develop new therapeutic strategies. One of these targets is the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R). It is well known that the substance P (SP)/NK-1R system is involved in cancer progression. TNBC cells overexpress the NK-1R and, after binding to this receptor, SP promotes the proliferation/ migration of TNBC cells. Non-peptide NK-1R antagonists (e.g., aprepitant) are known to exert, via the NK-1R, an antitumor action; TNBC cells die by apoptosis. In this review, we update the data on a promising therapeutic innovation: the use of NK-1R antagonists for the treatment of TNBC patients.