Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, have made a ground-breaking discovery in breast cancer research. They demonstrated that the extracellular matrix protein collagen XVIII significantly promotes breast cancer progression and metastasis. Additionally, they showed that inhibiting the function of this collagen improves the efficiency of certain commonly used targeted therapies for breast cancer. These findings are significant as they may lead to the development of more effective and entirely new cancer drugs. The research was published in the September 15, 2023 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The open-access article is titled “Targeting Collagen XVIII Improves the Efficiency of ErbB Inhibitors in Breast Cancer Models.”