Cancer Council Victoria (CCV) Venture Grant Initiative

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Cancer Council Victoria (CCV) Venture Grant Initiative - Research at Peter Mac

Research Focus

Identification of novel breast cancer tumour suppressors and genes which regulate sensitivity to cancer therapeutics.

Research Overview

Studies performed as part of the CCV Venture Grant Initiative use cutting edge gene knockdown technologies supplied through the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics to identify the genetic changes that underpin cancer formation and determine how best to utilise new and existing anti-cancer drug therapies. The aims of the group are twofold. The first is to identify new tumour suppressor genes with a focus on breast cancer, a disease that has a significant impact on human health. To do this, we are utilising RNA interference (RNAi)-based gene knockdown technology which allows us to eliminate the expression of all known human genes one at a time and thus to carry out genome-wide functional genomic screens. We are applying this technology to cells that already have a number of defined cancer-causing “genetic hits” and have therefore proceeded some of the way along the transformation process but require one last “hit” to form a tumour. This allows us to identify new tumour suppressor genes that can regulate the onset and progression of cancer. To date we have identified several putative breast cancer tumour suppressors and are now in the process of further validation and characterisation of their mechanisms of action. Our second aim is to identify genes that are required for existing and newly developed anti-cancer therapeutics to kill cancer cells. To do this, we have screened a number of therapeutics for their ability to kill breast cancer cells and using the gene knockdown technology described above, we are now in the process of identify genes that are necessary for their activity. These studies will allow us to determine why some cancer patients do not respond to a given anti-cancer drug and/or why patients may initially respond but later relapse with their tumours becoming “drug-resistant” and much more difficult to treat. Taken together, these studies will significantly advance our knowledge of the genes and molecular pathways that are deregulated in cancer and will provide important information about how existing and newly developed anti-cancer therapeutics kill cancer cells and how tumour cells evade such treatments. Our studies will provide novel tools and identify new cancer targets to advance our efforts to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.