Why the study?
Cancer patients face an increased risk for thrombosis, warranting further investigation into applying antiplatelet strategies in oncology.
Does antiplatelet therapy combined with anastrozole prevent hypercoagulation and modulate tumour responses in luminal phenotype breast cancer cells?
Does antiplatelet therapy combined with anastrozole prevent hypercoagulation and modulate tumour responses in luminal phenotype breast cancer cells?
In breast cancer cell models, combining antiplatelet therapy with anastrozole failed to mitigate hypercoagulation and induced partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
Should not change clinical practice in breast cancer; hypothesis-generating for partial EMT effects in luminal models.
Thromboembolic complications are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Cancer patients often present with an increased risk for thrombosis including hypercoagulation, so the application of antiplatelet strategies to oncology warrants further investigation. This study investigated the effects of anastrozole and antiplatelet therapy (aspirin/clopidogrel cocktail or atopaxar) treatment on the tumour responses of luminal phenotype breast cancer cells and induced hypercoagulation. Ethical clearance was obtained (M150263). Blood was co-cultured with breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and T47D) pre-treated with anastrozole and/or antiplatelet drugs for 24 h. Hypercoagulation was indicated by thrombin production and platelet activation (morphological and molecular). Gene expression associated with the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was assessed in breast cancer cells, and secreted cytokines associated with tumour progression were evaluated. Data were analysed with the PAST3 software. Our findings showed that antiplatelet therapies (aspirin/clopidogrel cocktail and atopaxar) combined with anastrozole failed to prevent hypercoagulation and induced evidence of a partial EMT. Differences in tumour responses that modulate tumour aggression were noted between breast cancer cell lines, and this may be an important consideration in the clinical management of subphenotypes of luminal phenotype breast cancer. Further investigation is needed before this treatment modality (combined hormone and antiplatelet therapy) can be considered for managing tumour associated-thromboembolic disorder.
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Xulu et al. (2021) studied this question.
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