Health · Medical Research · 2 hrs ago
RAGE inflammation pathway linked to greater breast cancer spread in older mice
Breast cancer spread to the lungs more often in older mice, even though their original tumors grew at about the same rate as tumors in younger mice.
Researchers at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center found that the inflammation-related receptor RAGE helped drive the increased spread.
Aging raised levels of molecules that activate RAGE, promoting inflammation that can help cancer cells invade nearby tissue.
Removing RAGE almost completely eliminated the age-related increase in spread in the mice.
In data from more than 1,000 patients, higher activity in RAGE-related genes was linked to poorer outcomes, but this does not prove RAGE causes cancer to spread in people.
The findings matter because they suggest the aging body can help tumors spread, not just make cancer more likely to develop.
A Georgetown study is evaluating the RAGE inhibitor TTP488 in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, but whether it can prevent spread in patients remains unproven.
Researchers found that older mice with breast cancer were more likely than younger mice to develop lung metastases, even though their primary tumors grew at roughly the same rate.
Removing the inflammation-related receptor RAGE almost completely eliminated this age-related increase in cancer spread in the mice.
The study suggests that aging-related inflammation can help cancer cells invade surrounding tissue and spread.
An analysis of data from more than 1,000 breast cancer patients linked higher AGER gene expression and related inflammatory activity with poorer outcomes, but does not show that RAGE causes metastasis in people.
A Georgetown Lombardi clinical study is evaluating the RAGE inhibitor TTP488 in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
- Who
- Researchers at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center studied breast cancer spread in mice.
- What
- They found that RAGE is involved in greater cancer spread in older mice. Removing the receptor almost completely eliminated the age-related increase in metastasis.
- When
- The study was published May 15, 2026.
- Where
- The experiments used mouse models; the clinical study is at Georgetown Lombardi.
- Why
- Aging increased inflammatory signals that activate RAGE, which helped cancer cells invade and spread.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Reduced laboratory activity allowed some mouse colonies to age longer than planned.
The study was published in Communications Biology.
A Georgetown Lombardi clinical study is evaluating TTP488 in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
- Receptor
- RAGE (Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products)
- Cancer models
- Three mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer
- Patient data
- More than 1,000 patients
- Drug
- TTP488 (azeliragon)
- Publication date
- May 15, 2026
What people are saying
Our study addresses a major gap by showing that aging dramatically increases breast cancer metastasis and that this effect depends on RAGE, a receptor on the surface of cells that fuels inflammation
These findings show that aging doesn’t just increase cancer risk — it actively changes the body in ways that help tumors spread