TNBC affects around 170,000 patients worldwide each year and accounts for 15-20% of breast cancer; compared to other types of breast cancer, TNBC is more aggressive and precocious. Its diagnosis, made difficult by the existence of subtypes with different characteristics, is fundamental to establish prognosis and personalized therapy. Nucleic acid aptamers are highly selective low-molecular-weight molecules, synthesizable at low cost and easily modifiable, capable of binding and detecting tissue markers ("aptahistochemistry”). Our team has identified 6 RNA aptamers which specifically recognize 6 different TNBC markers, distinguishing subtypes with different aggressiveness. Our idea foresees the development of a kit for the identification and characterization of TNBC, based on a simple protocol in which the 6 aptamers are incubated simultaneously on the same sample (multiplex).
TNBC is diagnosed by immunohistochemistry, with antibodies against 3 proteins, in separate reactions, on different slices of tissue. Our kit provides the simultaneous use ("multiplex") of 6 aptamers, suitably modified, which, being synthesized chemically, are cheaper, more stable and reliable in terms of reproducibility compared to antibodies. Our kit allows the detection, on the same sample, of as many as 6 markers, with a considerable reduction of the time and improvement of the information on the state of progression of the tumor; it also allows, for the first time, the sub-typing of the TNBC, a basic diagnostic data on which to identify the most appropriate therapeutic strategy. There are no competitors that produce TNBC kits based on multiplex aptahistochemistry.