A Blood Pressure Drug Might Effectively Treat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

A researcher at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy Drug Discovery Institute is looking to prove that nebivolol, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug for high blood pressure, is effective at treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Meghana Trivedi, PhD, PharmD, a professor of pharmacy and pharmacology, has received a $1.1 million grant from the US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity to support her work.

In preliminary studies, Dr. Trivedi identified a few potential drugs that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for treating TNBC. GPCRs are viable targets because the drugs targeting them generally have robust safety profiles. In fact, 30% to 50% of all FDA-approved drugs target GPCRs. Dr. Trivedi noted that, “surprisingly, GPCRs are virtually unexplored as drug targets in breast cancer, and there is an urgent clinical need to identify novel treatments for TNBC that are both safe and effective.” Therefore, a key focus of Dr. Trivedi’s research is finding GPCR targets and drugs for the treatment of breast and other types of cancer.

“If we can repurpose these drugs that have already proven to be safe for human use, we can make them available to TNBC patients faster,” said Dr. Trivedi via a press release. She added, “We believe that our studies will demonstrate that nebivolol can be used as an easily available and economically viable treatment in TNBC patients. Our research will investigate the preclinical efficacy as well as the pharmacokinetics of nebivolol and the mechanism of action by which it exerts its anticancer activity in TNBC.”