Grant: Operating Grant - Priority Announcement: Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and a serious public health issue in Canada with 1 in 9 women at risk. Statistics Canada reports more than 22,000 new diagnoses in Canada every year and over 5,000 deaths. Elevated expression of BReast tumor Kinase (BRK) occurs in about 60% of breast tumors, but the oncogenic, prognostic, diagnostic and physiological roles of BRK overexpression have not been clarified. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), overexpressed in about 25-30% of breast cancers, is targeted for breast cancer treatment with the drug Herceptin. We have previously established that BRK contributes to the oncogenic effects of HER2 in breast cancers. To assess if BRK is associated with specific breast tumor subtypes and/or tumor grades, we will measure the expression of BRK in a panel of clinically classified breast cancer cell lines and human breast tumors and tissue microarrays. We will next knockdown BRK in breast cancer cells and introduce BRK into normal cells and determine the effect on tumor formation and breast cancer cell morphogenesis and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Together, these studies will define the physiological role of BRK in mammary tumorigenesis and position BRK as a targeting alternative to breast cancer therapy.