Exploring Drug Resistance in Breast Cancer Using a Boolean Model

Abstract

Breast cancer is a condition where cells in the breast grow abnormally. Besides skin cancers, breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in the United States, with 1 in 8 women developing breast cancer in their lifetime. Research has shown that genetic mutations play a major role in passing on breast cancer from generation to generation. In particular, different variants in genes, including BRAF, BRCA, FGFR, and PTEN, can be targeted with different drugs. In this study, a signaling pathway diagram was developed to better understand how the different genes are associated with each other and the impacts of mutations in different parts of the gene pathways. Then, a Boolean model was created to understand the interactions between the different genes and the impacts of inhibiting certain genes on the rest of the pathways in breast cancer. The Boolean model was then applied to approved drugs as well as drugs currently being tested in clinical trials in order to understand their efficacy as treatments for breast cancer.