Hope for more personalised breast cancer detection and treatment

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in Australia and the second most common cause of cancer-related death in women in Australia. Each year, more than 20,000 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer, and over 3,000 people die from the disease.

That’s why Associate Professor Pascal Duijf and his team at the University of South Australia are working to improve how we detect and treat breast cancer, by developing more personalised approaches that match the right treatment to the right patient, and by exploring ways to detect cancer earlier, when it’s most treatable.

Spotting cancer before it starts

Through Cancer Council NSW-funded research, Associate Professor Pascal Duijf, together with Dr Sugandha Bhatia and other researchers, made a surprising finding that normal cells can adopt cancer-like behaviours, such as changing shape and movement, even without any genetic mutations (changes). This challenges current views on cancer development and suggests that some cells may begin to behave like cancer cells, even before they become cancerous.

This exciting discovery opens up possibilities for earlier detection by identifying cells at risk of becoming cancerous and could even lead to new ways to stop cancer from developing in the first place.

Matching treatment to the patient  

Genetic defects can play a significant role in cancer development. Such genetic defects can be small, for example in a single gene, or they can be large and affect multiple genes.

This research group found that large genetic defects work much better as drug targets than small genetic defects and specifically identified a specific large genetic defect on chromosome 13 that is linked to poorer outcomes and occurs in up to 63% of breast cancer patients.

However, there’s a positive side to this discovery: Associate Professor Pascal Duijf, Dr Parastoo Shahrouzi and their team, in collaboration with the University of Oslo, found that this genetic defect also makes cancer cells more sensitive to a certain group of drugs known as BCL2 inhibitors.

This means treatments could be tailored to patients based on their genetic profile, improving effectiveness and reducing side effects for those unlikely to benefit.

New drug targets

Given the discovery that some large genetic defects work as better drug targets, the team then explored how gaining or losing whole chromosomes affects cancer behaviour – focusing on chromosome 18, which is often abnormal in cancer. Their results suggest that these changes influence cell behaviour by affecting multiple genes at once, which could drive cancer development.

Excitingly, the team also identified two different drugs that may specifically target cancer cells with chromosome 18 loss or gain. Further studies are needed to confirm these results, but they represent another promising step toward more precise cancer treatments.

Looking ahead

The team is now working to validate these promising drug candidates that target chromosome 18 abnormalities, with the goal of developing a new class of treatments.

These discoveries may be applicable across a wide range of cancer types and could lead to significant advancements in early detection, treatment and patient outcomes leading to improved cancer survival.

This research was made possible thanks to the generosity of Cancer Council NSW donors and supporters. Your contributions help to fund innovative projects like this one and help researchers uncover new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer.