Selective Cerium Nanoclusters for Safer Breast Cancer Therapy

Treats Hormone-Responsive Breast Tumors with High Cancer-Cell Selectivity and Low Toxicity

These cerium nanoclusters provide a safer breast cancer therapy by treating hormone-responsive tumors with high cancer-cell selectivity and low toxicity. Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer worldwide, with breast adenocarcinomas accounting for approximately 50–75% of all invasive breast cancer cases. Cisplatin remains the standard treatment for hormonally responsive breast cancer cases, yet it causes severe side effects, including kidney and liver damage, increased risk of infection, hearing loss, and more. Currently, the market lacks equally effective treatments with reduced toxicity profiles. Therefore, there is an urgent need for newer therapies with less side effects that are non-toxic even in high doses and show high selectivity for cancer cells. The global breast cancer market size was estimated at $25.13 billion in 2024 and is predicted to increase from $26.23 billion in 2025 to $38.54 billion by 2034.

Researchers at the University of Florida have discovered cerium-oxide nanoclusters to treat hormone-responsive breast tumors with high cancer-cell selectivity and lower toxicity than cisplatin. These clusters exhibit high therapeutic-potential-index (TPI) values and induce apoptotic cell death, indicating a clear safety and efficacy advantage over conventional drugs. Therefore, these clusters have the potential to offer improved patient outcomes and a strong commercial opportunity in the breast cancer market.

Application

Cerium-oxide clusters for safer cancer treatment against human breast adenocarcinoma cells with higher cancer-cell selectivity and low toxicity

Advantages

• Possesses lower levels of toxic activity, even at high doses, reducing patient side effects and improving overall safety
• Improves activity against HR-negative breast cancer cells, increasing treatment effectiveness compared to cisplatin
• Induces apoptotic cell death and antiproliferation, eliminating harmful human breast adenocarcinoma cells
• Selectively targets cancer cells, sparing normal healthy cells

Technology

These atomically precise cerium-oxide nanoclusters are produced by mixing a cerium salt, an organic carboxylic acid, a mild reducing agent, and a solvent. Then, the mixture is heated for several hours, and the product is isolated from the solution by crystallization. Biological testing shows antiproliferative activity against both hormone-receptor-positive and hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer cells, with a high therapeutic-potential index. These clusters cause far less chromosome damage and meet non-cytotoxic criteria. Additionally, these nanoclusters trigger apoptotic cell death through DNA fragmentation.