Personalising treatments for patients with breast cancer

The Joan Marshall Breast Cancer Research Fund provides vital funding to WEHI under a five-year grant. The fund has assisted us in launching a project titled 'Personalising treatments for patients with breast cancer; evaluating new models and targeted therapies for breast cancer'. With this generous support, our researchers have the opportunity to carry out early-phase clinical trials of anti-breast cancer drugs.

The project is a collaborative effort between joint heads of our ACRF Cancer Biology and Stem Cells division Professors Geoff Lindeman and Jane Visvader; head of our Systems Biology and Personalised Medicine division Professor Liam O’Connor and Professor Gordon Smyth, joint head of our Bioinformatics division.

Making an impact

The project is in its second year, and our researchers have already reached key milestones by:

• Generating eight breast cancer models that will form the basis of the genetic studies for the rest of the project.
• Establishing a framework for studying clinical samples of tumours pre- and post-therapy.
• Helping our researchers move their research into early-phase clinical trials.

Making a real difference to breast cancer patients

Professor Doug Hilton said that the support from the Joan Marshall Cancer Research Fund was absolutely critical in facilitating this research project. “Philanthropic support like this gives our researchers the ability to pursue longer-term projects that will make a real impact on the lives of breast cancer patients,” he said.

The Joan Marshall Breast Cancer Research Fund was created to honour the memory of Joan Marshall, a much-loved wife and mother who died from breast cancer in 1998.