A new therapy to reduce breast cancer metastasis and muscle wasting

Funded by the Mother’s Day Classic Foundation (MDC)

Professor Paul Gregorevic is Head of the Laboratory for Muscle Research and Therapeutics, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Muscle Research at the University of Melbourne.

The challenge:

Metastatic breast cancer is difficult to treat. When cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body, such as the bones, lungs, brain or liver, treatments that once controlled the original tumour often become less effective. This is because cancer cells can adapt and develop resistance to therapy, and because tumours behave differently depending on the tissue they grow in. As a result, metastatic breast cancer is harder to control and has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people living with the disease.

Many people with metastatic breast cancer also develop cachexia, a serious and debilitating cancer-related wasting condition characterised by severe weight loss, muscle weakness and fatigue. Cachexia not only reduces quality of life, but it can make it difficult or impossible for people living with metastatic cancer to continue their treatment, further worsening outcomes.

Currently, there are no effective treatments that address both metastatic disease and cachexia together. This leaves many people with limited treatment options and worsening physical decline.

Project description:

In their previous research, Professor Paul Gregorevic and his team at the University of Melbourne uncovered biological mechanisms that help protect the body against both metastasis and cachexia. These protective mechanisms are linked to a natural signalling pathway in the body called Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signalling, which plays a role in regulating how cells function and communicate with each other.

Building on this work, the team identified a new drug that was recently developed for wound healing. Preclinical studies have shown that this drug enhances protective BMP pathway signalling, leading to reduced breast cancer metastasis. Research by Professor Gregorevic’s team and others suggests that this drug could also reduce the development of cachexia by enhancing protective mechanisms linked to the same signalling mechanism.

Professor Gregorevic’s Pink Sky Grant project, funded by the Mother’s Day Classic Foundation (MDC), will undertake the essential preclinical studies needed to determine whether this wound-healing drug can be repurposed as a new treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Firstly, the project aims to optimise how the drug could be used in preclinical models of metastatic breast cancer, explore how the drug works, and test whether combining it with current standard-of-care can improve treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Secondly, the ability of optimised drug dosing and delivery to preserve muscle mass and strength will also be explored in laboratory models of breast cancer-associated cachexia. Together, these studies will provide evidence of how this drug works to target the mechanisms of metastasis and cachexia, and support advancement toward future clinical trials.

Potential impact:

If successful, Professor Gregorevic’s proposed therapy could transform outcomes for people with metastatic breast cancer by targeting both metastasis and cachexia – two major drivers of poor outcomes. By slowing the spread of cancer while helping to maintain muscle strength and physical function, the team’s novel drug-based strategy has the potential to improve treatment tolerance and day-to-day wellbeing, and ultimately extend survival. This dual-target approach offers the potential to improve outcomes for people affected by metastatic breast cancer.

Grant code: 2025/PS0110
Active years: 2026-2029
Scientific project title: A novel therapy targeting metastasis and cachexia to defeat breast cancer