NEW ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTI-TUMOR TREATMENT

Antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerous levels worldwide and it will be a serious problem in the very near future if new therapies are not developed. In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognized the antibiotic resistance as one of the most important global threats for health of the 21st century. It is therefore clear need to develop new antimicrobials. On the other hand, breast cancer has the highest incidence in Europe (458,718 cases, 13% of the total) and the second worldwide (1.7 million cases, 12% of the total). Breast cancer treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach individualized for each patient, combining surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapies. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not respond to hormonal therapies because it has no target receptors and it is associated with a four times higher risk of metastasis than other types of breast tumours, and a lower 5-year survival rate. Chemotherapy is the only treatment for TBNC, but its high cytotoxicity also for healthy cells and the emergence of chemoresistance require finding other treatment options. Alternative treatments against TNBC that selectively kill cancer cells or reduce their proliferation while slowing development of resistance would be of high value.