Grant: Operating Grant

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women. The estrogen receptor and the oncogene ERBB2 have been known to play a major role in the initiation and progression of the disease. Consequently, these two proteins have been the subject of intense investigation during the last 20 years, and drugs inhibiting their activity such as Tamoxifen, Anastrozole and Herceptin have been developed and successfully used to treat breast cancer. However, not all patients respond to these drugs or patients that initially respond to tem develop resistance during the course of the treatment. Thus, we must continue to search for complimentary and alternative therapeutic avenues. The estrogen receptors belongs to a large family of functionally related proteins. Among this family exist a group of very closely related orphan receptors referred to as the ERRs. Orphan receptors are members of the family for which an association with a known natural hormone has yet to be found. Recently, we have found that the ERRs play an important role in controlling breast cancer cell growth and proliferation. The ERRs do so by directly interacting with the estrogen receptor and the ERBB2 oncogene. The goal of our research project is thus to understand how the ERRs promote the growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells. Our laboratory employs the most up-to-date technologies to probe the genome of breast cancer cells for answers as well as to transfer this knowledge to the clinic as rapidly as we can. We hope that our research program will lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies to treat the disease and prolong the life of breast cancer patients in a significant manner.