Featured Researcher—Brunhilde Felding-Habermann, Ph.D.
Brunhilde Felding-Habermann, Ph.D., is a cell biologist and an Associate
Professor in the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine at The
Scripps 
Research Institute.
Targeting Metastatic Breast Cancer
The spread of breast cancer from the primary tumor to other parts of the body remains an element of tumor progression that is poorly understood and treated, and brain metastases are among the most feared complications in breast cancer. Dr. Felding-Habermann is pursuing answers to why cells metastasize and where they go. Her currently funded studies are focused on breast cancer brain metastases. Her team is using innovative antibody delivery methods and stem cells as agents to deliver chemotherapy to specifically kill brain metastases, while leaving healthy brain cells intact. Read more >
Ask an Expert
If you’d like to ask Dr. Felding-Habermann a question about her research, please email felding-habermann@cabreastcancer.org any time between September 1 and October 30. New questions and answers will be posted regularly, so check back for updates.
- Q. If all the studies proceed as planned, how soon could we realistically expect to see antibody therapy or stem cell therapy in clinical trials?
A. For me as a basic researcher, it is hard to tell how soon an antibody therapy or stem cell therapy could go to clinical trials if our studies proceed as planned. We are having very promising results, particularly with the neural stem cell approach. Our latest concept is to engineer neural stem cells in a way so that they can secrete therapeutic human antibodies or antibody fragments. Based on our finding that implanted stem cells, or even systemically injected stem cells reach breast cancer lesions in the brain, we hope that 'training' the stem cells to deliver anti-metastatic antibodies could be a very promising new way of delivering therapeutic molecules to brain metastases, even if they are widely dispersed. The fastest possible way to bring a new approach like this to the clinic would probably be to find a partner who already has approval for therapeutic stem cells and then work with the FDA to get advice for the most rigorous and fastest way to complete the necessary preclinical studies and work toward a clinical trial.
- Q. What are the advantages of treating metastases with neural stem cell therapy instead of antibody therapies or visa versa?
A. Based on results from the literature and our own findings, we think that combining a neural stem cell approach with therapeutic antibodies could well be the most effective way to actually reach breast cancer metastases in the brain. Antibodies normally do not cross the blood brain barrier but neural stem cells, engineered to express antibodies with therapeutic potential, could deliver the blocking molecules to the metastatic sites.
- Q. Does the method of antibody delivery (inhalation or injection) affect the accuracy for targeting metastasis in different parts of the body?
A. We are checking carefully if the method of delivering therapeutic antibodies, specifically targeted toward breast cancer brain metastases, affects the accuracy of targeting metastasis in different parts of the body. It has been shown, and we are seeing this as well, that systemically applied neural stem cells can also localize to metastases outside the brain. If the stem cells are engineered to express therapeutic antibodies, metastasis seeking stem cells could inhibit breast cancer spreading in general.
- Q. Is there a timeline or a window of opportunity for NSC therapy where the treatment is most effective in preventing metastasis of breast cancer into the brain?
A. We have the opportunity to follow the development of breast cancer brain lesions by non-invasive imaging of experimental mice that were injected with human tumor cells. By generating 'experimental patients' with brain metastases at early and late stages, we are trying to define if and when treatment with neural stem cells is most effective. The hope is that even advanced stages of brain metastasis can be targeted with this approach. We have seen that therapeutic neural stem cells localize to large as well as to very small metastatic lesions in the brain. We are now analyzing critically if even large lesions and very widespread disease can still be inhibited with optimized neural stem cells.
- Q. Based on your theory, might NSC therapy be used to treat/prevent metastasis in other areas of the body (besides the brain)?
A. Based on our results and findings from other groups, we think that metastasis in essentially all areas of the body could potentially be targeted with a stem cell based therapy. Our imaging approaches allow us to monitor treatment responses of brain metastases, as well as metastatic lesions outside the central nervous system. Histology is used at the end of the experiments to monitor if stem cell activity can be tracked at metastatic sites, regardless of where they occur.
Essentially, we fully agree with one of the major take-home messages of the recent AACR Special Conference on Breast Cancer Research: Breast cancer is not one disease but a combination of many, and effective therapy will depend on a combination of different regimens to eradicate the tumor cells. We hope that our work will indicate if human antibodies and neural stem cells have a potential of contributing to an effective combination therapy.
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