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Grant Holder Dr Mark Crompton

Researcher Dr Amanda Harvey

Completed project London - London & South East England Institute Royal Holloway, University of London Amount Awarded £151,662.00 Duration 36 months Type of Award Project grant

Title

The role of the Brk tyrosine kinase in breast cancer progression

Synopsis

Through studying the role in tumour spread played by a molecule that is active during breast cancer development, this team will determine whether it could provide the basis for designing new therapies.

Aims & Goals

We have identified an enzyme Brk that is present in the cells of 60% of breast tumours, but not normal mammary tissue, and that plays a central role in the proliferation of those cells. Thus, Brk accumulates abnormally during the development of a high proportion of breast cancers, and has at least one important role in maintaining their pathological behaviour.The majority of deaths resulting from cancer are due to the metastasis (spread) of tumour cells to distant sites in the body. Many of the cellular processes that are required for this to occur can be modelled experimentally, and we propose to determine the role of Brk in these using state of the art approaches to specifically deplete Brk in breast tumour cells. In so doing, we will determine whether novel therapies aimed at interfering specifically with Brk’s functions, could have multiple benefits through inhibiting tumour growth and spread.

Updates

Dr Mark Crompton and Dr Amanda Harvey at Royal Holloway, University of London have found in their first year of research that an enzyme called Brk helps breast cancer cells to survive when they break away from tumours and spread round the body. They hope this could lead to new breast cancer treatments to stop the cancers from spreading.

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