Did you know?

As the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women, breast cancer affects one in 11 women before the age of 75 years. Due to advancements in medical research and early detection methods, survival rates have improved significantly: There is now an 85% chance that a woman diagnosed with breast cancer will still be alive five years after diagnosis. A cancer is a group of cells that have mutated to grow rapidly and form a cluster of cells that can invade and impair the function of the surrounding or distant tissues and organs. In breast cancer, cells in certain parts of the breast, typically the lining of the milk ducts, multiply out of control forming a tumour or a lump in the breast. If undetected, these rogue cells may then travel to other parts of the body, known as metastasis.

Breast cancer affects one in 11 Australian women before the age of 75 years.

Diamantina’s research into breast cancer

There are a number of research scientists at the Diamantina Institute who are working on different aspects of breast cancer. Professor Tom Gonda, head of the Molecular Oncogenesis Group, is investigating both breast cancer and leukaemia. His lab is focused on understanding the mechanism that drives cell replication and differentiation, two crucial aspects that malfunction during breast cancer. They are particularly looking at identifying and characterising oncogenes, genes that drive cancer initiation and progression, since these are the logical targets for new anti-cancer therapies. Professor Gonda and his team recently uncovered the mechanism by which the female sex hormone, oestrogen, can turn on a particular gene linked to breast cancer, called MYB. MYB is one of several dozen oncogenes and is found in 70 percent of all breast cancers. The team also demonstrated that MYB is essential for the growth of breast cancer cells. By developing new therapies that block the action of MYB, we may now have the beginnings of a powerful new breast cancer therapy.

Associate Professor Nigel McMillan, head of the Molecular Virology Group, is also investigating breast cancer, but he is taking a different approach. Associate Professor McMillan and his team are interested in the role that viruses play in causing, and curing, cancers. They have screened breast cancer samples and have found evidence of the presence of human papillomavirus, the same virus that causes cervical cancer and has been implicated in a number of other cancers, like prostate cancer. They are currently investigating whether the virus is causing or driving the development of breast cancer.

More information

For more detailed information about the research that is being done in the Molecular Oncogenesis and Molecular Virology groups, click on the links. For more information about breast cancer, we recommend you visit the National Breast Cancer Centre or the Cancer Council website.