Hormonally-dependent and related cancers
Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Contact: Professor Robert Sutherland
Web: http://www.garvan.org.au
Scientists at Garvan Institute for Medical Research are making significant progress in the international battle against cancer with a series of integrated projects aimed at understanding mechanisms of normal growth control and how they are lost in cancer. This covers a spectrum of models and approaches varying from the cloning and characterisation of new genes, through cell culture and animal models to studies of molecular markers of therapeutic responsiveness and disease outcome in cancer patients. The Garvan Cancer Research Program includes five research groups.
- Cell cycle
- Development
- Steroid-Hormone Action
- Signal Transduction
- Translational Research
- Epigenetics
Oncology Research Centre, (ORC), Prince of Wales
Contact: Professor Pam Russell
Web: http://powcs.med.unsw.edu.au
ORC at Prince of Wales Hospital Clinical School is a cancer research department of ~30 researchers, performing pre-clinical studies. The ORC has particular strengths in the development of tumour models in vitro (including cell lines transfected with genes of interest) and in vivo, including growth of tumour cells in the bone and in our major research studies:
- The biology of genitourinary cancer, including new therapeutic strategies, such as gene therapy or antibody-based therapies;
- The molecular basis of cancer progression, including regulation of tumour- and metastasis-suppressor genes in prostate and bladder cancers;
- How cancer cells spread to and interact with other organs, including the bone.
Virology Division, South East Area Laboratory Services
Contact: Professor William Rawlinson
There are now well-established aetiological links between some viruses and human cancers. There are several other viruses where we and others have demonstrated association, but plausible aetiological mechanisms have not been yet demonstrated. At the Virology Division, South East Area Laboratory Services research objectives are to characterise cellular and molecular events associated with virus (HMLV, EBV, HPV) - human cancer interactions, thereby demonstrating the role (or otherwise) of these viruses in neoplastic transformation. Our focus has been the association of the Human MMTV-like virus (HMLV), with human breast and other cancers. We have demonstrated HMLV is present in human hormonally influenced cancers, including breast cancer; shown p53 is altered in infected breast cancers, and shown co-location of HMLV and cancerous cells. Since the LTR (Long Terminal Repeat) of the virus contains hormone response elements, we speculate the hormonal environment may influence the activity of the virus and onset of tumourogenesis. Further studies are continuing aimed at distinguishing between HMLV as causative or an epiphenomenon in the aetiology of human cancers.