Pharmacological Induction of mesenchymal-epithelial transition chemosensitizes breast cancer cells and prevents metastatic progression.

While the advent of targeted therapy has led to vast improvements in outcomes for certain types of breast cancer, a mainstay for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains cytotoxic chemotherapy. A major clinical hurdle in successfully managing this disease is the eventual development of therapeutic resistance and disease relapse in more aggressive forms. Our data reveal that epigenetic modulation of EMT state using the FDA-approved therapeutic eribulin curtails metastatic propensity of breast tumors and, when administered in the treatment-naïve setting, sensitizes to subsequent treatment with other chemotherapeutics.