Researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center identified RAGE as a mechanistic driver of increased breast cancer metastasis with age, suggesting RAGE inhibition could be an adjunctive strategy for older patients. In mouse breast cancer models and in human breast cancer analyses, the study implicates the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) as an aging-associated switch that amplifies inflammatory signaling and supports metastatic progression. The work was published in Communications Biology. Co-corresponding author Barry Hudson, PhD, said the findings address a gap in which many preclinical studies use young animals, limiting understanding of how aging reshapes the host environment. The authors report that inhibiting RAGE may be “well-tolerated,” framing the receptor as a potential therapeutic target in older patients with higher baseline mortality risk. The study’s emphasis on a host-aging mechanism—rather than tumor-intrinsic progression alone—could influence the way combination therapies are designed and stratified for older breast cancer patients.