Queensland researchers say human trials into better treatments for women with a severe type of breast cancer could begin within five years.
They have discovered than an enzyme - known as CD73 - inhibits treatments such as chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, which has a 20 per cent fatality rate.
Professor Mark Smyth from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research says if the enzyme is blocked, existing treatments are more effective.
"We have used a mouse model to validate that this particular enzyme, when it's expressed on breast cancers, blocks the effects of chemotherapy," he said.
"If we then inhibit that particular enzyme we can get a combination affect between the antibody which blocks the enzyme and the chemotherapy to get a better anti-tumour activity."
"The proof of principle, I think, is there.
"It's just going through all the additional pre-clinical requirements and I think early clinical trials could begin within five years if everything went smoothly."