Synthesis and evaluation of naphthalene derivatives as potent STAT3 inhibitors and agents against triple-negative breast cancer growth and metastasis.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the worst prognostic subtype of breast cancer and lacks targeted therapeutic drugs. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is overexpressed and constitutively activated in TNBCs and associated with poor patient outcomes. However, no agents targeting STAT3 have been successfully developed and marketed.