Grant: CIHR - ICR / Cancer Research Society Partnership - Research Grants

" Despite recent advances, certain types of breast cancer remain difficult to treat. New effective therapies are urgently needed. Many breast cancer cells differ from healthy cells in their metabolism – their ability to make and use sugars, lipids and amino acids. Breast cancer cells also have metabolic versatility – the ability to adapt their metabolism under various situations – which contributes to resistance of some breast tumors to chemotherapy. We propose to study a new cancer cell signaling system that we have recently discovered, by which breast cancer cells sense their own metabolic state, and thus adapt to promote their own survival and growth. Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of this new metabolism sensing and adaptive signaling system of cancer cells will allow identification of new drug targets that may be effective in preventing chemotherapy resistance in breast cancer, and thus improve patient outcomes."