Lung cancer, which often occurs as lung adenocarcinoma, is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. At least 70% of lung adenocarcinoma patients fail to show long-term benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors, highlighting the need to identify in advance those more likely to benefit.

Researchers continue to search for how they can inhibit cancer metastasis as it can severely worsen prognosis, even if the primary tumor responded well to therapy. Researchers at Università degli Studi di Torino and collaborators previously showed that injecting an RNA aptamer targeting the miRNA miR-214, called anti-miR-214 sponge, reduced metastasis of tumors to lungs and liver. One drawback of this potential therapeutic approach was that the inhibitor oligo could enter all cells, not only tumors.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for a substantial proportion of all breast cancers and is the most aggressive form of the disease. Identifying potential therapeutic targets is critical because the cancer does not express the three surface receptors recognized by current targeted therapies.

Overexpression of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) has been observed in a wide range of tumors, where it is associated with malignant transformation, tumor progression, poor prognosis, and resistance to therapy.