"Before we can combat these cancers, we need a comprehensive understanding of the biology underlying development of the normal organ and the cell types that reside in the tissue," she said. "This research on the basic biology of epithelial organs will help us understand which cells and molecular pathways go awry in epithelial cancers. With this information, we'll be in a better position to translate our findings to better clinical outcomes for cancer patients, by identifying molecules that will be useful for diagnosis and prognosis, as well as new therapies."

Professor Visvader's group has made a number of important discoveries in the field, including identification of two types of cells - breast stem cells and another 'daughter' (progenitor) cell called the luminal progenitor - that play a role in breast cancer.

"Our research indicates that breast stem cells and luminal progenitor cells are each predisposed to becoming cancerous under different conditions," she said. "The lessons learnt from studying stem and progenitor cells in breast tissue will now be extended to ovarian and lung cancer. Our division recently established an ovarian cancer laboratory and will take a similar approach to studying lung cancer. All of these programs will be linked to clinical research programs, in order to accelerate the pace of discovery and improved cancer outcomes for patients."

Source: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute