Treating breast cancer by turning off the cancer ‘life and death’ switch
Background
Triple negative breast cancer is a subtype of breast cancer that is extremely difficult to treat. Professor Ormandy and his team have found that a certain protein, called MCL-1, acts like a life and death switch for these breast cancer cells. When the protein is activated, it triggers mechanisms that protect the cancer cells from death, helping them to survive and spread. In the laboratory, the researchers have since discovered that it is possible to kill triple negative breast cancers by switching off the MCL-1 protein. The team also found that by turning off this protein, it is also possible to stop breast cancer cells invading through tissue and spreading to other parts of the body.
The research
As part of this grant, Professor Ormandy will build on this remarkable finding. His team will further explore the role of MCL-1 in triple negative breast cancer and discover new ways of treating this disease.