New options for treating aggressive breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is among the most difficult forms of breast cancer to treat and affects thousands of patients worldwide. Accounting for up to 20 percent of all cases, it is known for its aggressive progression and limited therapeutic options.

At the Doctoral Center Analytics4Health at Coburg University, doctoral candidate Katarina Pecić collaborates with the Institute for Information Technologies at the University of Kragujevac in Serbia and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Leipzig. Their shared goal is to examine whether palladium-based compounds could serve as more tolerable alternatives to existing chemotherapy agents used by oncologists and clinical teams.

Many established chemotherapy treatments rely on platinum-based drugs, which damage cancer cell DNA but often cause significant side effects. As Pecić explains, “When I began working with newly synthesized compounds, particularly palladium-coumarin complexes, I noticed their strong effects on different cancer cell lines.” Early studies in Kragujevac indicated that these compounds may act effectively against various tumor types.

In Germany, TNBC is estimated to cause around 3,700 deaths annually. Because of its poor prognosis, TNBC is a major challenge in oncology research. Pecić focuses on bioanalytical experiments to understand how palladium compounds influence cell survival mechanisms. “I test these compounds to see how they influence cell survival and death,” she explains.

Using advanced cell-based assays and proteomic methods, she analyzes thousands of proteins to identify molecular targets and assess the compounds’ potential as more selective cancer drugs. She also examines their performance in 3D tumor models that replicate real biological environments.
Her current work is funded through a BAYHOST scholarship from the Free State of Bavaria.

MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts