Publications by authors named "Karen Lee Ann Chen"
A majority of breast cancer specific deaths in women with ERα (+) tumors occur due to metastases that are resistant to endocrine therapy. There is a critical need for novel therapeutic approaches to resensitize recurrent ERα (+) tumors to endocrine therapies. The objective of this study was to elucidate mechanisms of improved effectiveness of combined targeting of ERα and the nuclear transport protein XPO1 in overcoming endocrine resistance.
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- The combination of Conjugated Estrogens (CE) and Bazedoxifene (BZA) aims to relieve menopause symptoms in women but its effects on gut microbiome and enzyme activity have not been previously studied.
- A mouse study revealed that while CE+BZA didn't significantly alter the overall gut microbiome, it did reduce the abundance of Akkermansia, associated with weight gain, and lowered fecal GUS activity linked to Lactobacillaceae abundance.
- This research suggests that long-term estrogen supplementation can directly influence gut microbial activity and composition, potentially optimizing the metabolism of estrogens for better health outcomes in postmenopausal women or breast cancer patients.
The bazedoxifene and conjugated estrogens (CE+BZA) combination has been shown to prevent visceral adiposity and weight gain after ovariectomy. However, its impact on the liver transcriptomes associated with prevention of hepatosteatosis is yet to be determined. In the present study, we use liver transcriptomics and plasma metabolomics analysis to characterize the effects of various estrogens on liver.
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- Many breast cancer deaths come from women with recurrent, estrogen receptor-positive tumors, highlighting the need for new treatment methods to make these tumors more sensitive to endocrine therapies.
- This study focused on validating certain nuclear transport genes, particularly XPO1, as potential indicators of endocrine therapy failure and explored how inhibiting XPO1 could enhance endocrine treatments.
- Results indicated that high levels of XPO1 were linked to poor survival rates and tamoxifen resistance, but combining XPO1 inhibition with tamoxifen restored sensitivity and reduced recurrence in resistant cancer models.