Concepcion describes metastasis, the process by which cancer cells break away from their primary tumor and multiply in other organs. A biochemist by training, she has dedicated her career to discovering marine-derived natural products—chemical compounds from sea-dwelling organisms like invertebrates—to develop drugs that can combat deadly diseases, including metastatic breast cancer.

With this goal in mind, Concepcion and an all-female research team from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) recently published a study on the promising activity of a potent compound derived from the Philippine blue sponge (Xestospongia sp.) against metastatic breast cancer in mice.

The team, composed of Concepcion, Dr. Lilibeth Salvador-Reyes, Zildjian Acyatan, Shalice Susana-Guevarra, Myra Ruth Picart, and Eliza Belen, demonstrated that the compound renieramycin M (RM), especially when combined with the clinically used cancer drug doxorubicin (Dox), significantly shrank tumors in mice while reducing the toxicity commonly associated with chemotherapy drugs.