Researchers at Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center reported a two-step preclinical strategy to counter triple-negative breast cancer resistance. The team led by Ozgur Sahin identified lysyl oxidase (LOX) as an unexpected driver inside TNBC cells and showed that inhibiting LOX disrupts tumor processes that can be exploited with a second targeted block. The combined approach significantly inhibited tumor growth in multiple TNBC preclinical models without chemotherapy in the reported experiments. The work, published in Cell Reports Medicine, frames the concept as “one-two punch”: weakening the cancer by blocking LOX first, then hitting a backup survival pathway after adaptation. The findings propose a potential path to treating chemoresistant disease while aiming to reduce chemotherapy-associated toxicity burdens.