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Efflux-agnostic therapy for mesenchymal TNBC

Some tumours pump out every drug. Use treatments the pumps cannot touch: radiation, radioligands, immune cells, and payloads designed to evade them.

The mesenchymal/claudin-low TNBC subtype and post-chemotherapy residual disease often show high ABCB1/ABCG2. MMAE, DXd, and SN-38 are all substrates. A rational strategy prioritises efflux-independent modalities.

Confidence
20%45%likelyOnCo editors (initial estimate), 2026-09-07 · Biologically plausible; no prospective stratification data yet.
Hypothesis
Tumours with high ABC transporter expression (RNA or IHC) derive less benefit from TOP1/tubulin ADCs and more from radioligand therapy, T-cell engagers, or ADCs with non-substrate payloads.
Rationale
Radiation and immune killing are not pumped out; sac-TMT's payload is reported to be a weaker efflux substrate; degrader payloads may also evade pumps.
What would test it
Retrospective ABCB1/ABCG2 analysis in ASCENT and TROPION-Breast02 samples; prospective stratification in a TNBC ADC trial; preclinical head-to-head of payloads in ABCG2-high PDX models.
Maturity
preclinical evidence

Connected

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