Understanding the role our immune cells play in the risk of developing breast cancer has taken a big step forward.Research into the immune cells known as macrophages, led by Associate Professor

Wendy Ingman at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, has shown the cells role changes in response to the hormone fluctuations that occur each month.The team’s study found that the cells play a role in the normal function of the breast but at certain stages in a woman’s menstrual cycle they may actually help to make the breast more susceptible to cancer.“These cells should be protecting our body from cancer, but at certain times of the month it appears macrophages might be allowing cancerous cells to escape detection by the immune system,” A/Prof Ingman said.“It’s a sort of Jekyll and Hyde scenario – we need the macrophages to do their job so the breast can function normally, but at the same time they’re giving cancerous cells the chance to survive,” she said.

Research Update

AustralianBreast CancerResearch

2014 Edition 1

Immune Cells Open Window to Breast Cancer Risk

Eighteen months ago Jenni Eyles was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease has not only impacted Jenni’s life, but also her family’s. Jenni is certain she is not the only woman who has felt a breast cancer diagnosis rock her entire family. This Mother’s Day, she wanted to share her story and offer some tips for others who may be in a similar situation as a mum, or know someone who is.

Jenni’s two sons Joel and Blake were still in high school when she was diagnosed. Joel was 17 and doing year 12, and Blake was only 14. Unfortunately Jenni’s diagnosis forced her children to grow up quickly and realise the world wasn’t golden.

“The doctor rang at 2pm after my second round of testing. Blake was home from school and sitting next to me as the doctor told me it was breast cancer. To this day I still wonder what he was thinking. I never thought to ask him to leave – I was in a bubble.”The hardest thing Jenni faced throughout her treatment was the thought that she wouldn’t be there for her family.

Breast Cancer; A Mother’s Perspective

www.abcr.com.au

continued page 3

continued page 3

Jenni’s many faces of breast cancer...

Breast cancer survivor Robyn

hopes research will mean her

daughter Karen (pictured) will not

have to deal with breast cancer.

finding a cure with your help www.abcr.com.au

Research Snapshot

page 3

In the final year of her PhD, Sally Sun is investigating breast tissue and why it is so susceptible to cancer.

Sally knows breast cancer can impact anyone– it is so common in women, and it is also possible for men to develop breast cancer. Recently one of her close friends sadly lost her step-mother to breast cancer, an event which has further strengthened her passion for research.

Tell us about your research…

The mammary glands located in the breast are responsible for producing milk. My research is mainly focused on investigating protein and immune cell networks in mammary gland development and how they can impact the growth of cancer. I am interested in two main proteins which both play significant roles in maintaining the normal development of the mammary gland. Either too many or too few of these proteins or immune cells can lead to tumour formation or abnormal development. I want to investigate how these proteins regulate macrophages, the key immune cells in normal mammary gland development.

Why is your research so important?

This research is about prevention which I

personally think is more important than a cure. We want to find out if we can reduce the risk of cancer by targeting a therapy at a particular cell

type. In the future if we

knew that people with a

certain cell type had a greater

risk of developing cancer then

we could treat them preventatively.

Immune Cells Open Window to Breast Cancer Risk >from page 1

A/Prof Ingman and her team now believe there is a “window of risk” which opens when a woman has a period and the levels of the hormone progesterone drops.

“Immune defences in the breast tissue are down at this time and women could be more susceptible to the initiating factors that lead to breast cancer,” she said.

“We have known for some time that there is a link between the number of years of menstrual cycling a woman has and breast cancer risk.

“We are now starting to understand the cell-to-cell interactions that impact this risk,” she said.

Seven years ago Robyn Dawkins was diagnosed with the disease and given a 15% chance of long term survival – odds that she has now defied. Robyn now reads everything she can about breast cancer and the research being undertaken to both prevent and treat the disease.

“I know only too well the havoc a breast cancer diagnosis caused in my life and for those who love me – it is my wish that none of my family will ever have to listen to a doctor deliver the same news.”

“I am extremely hopeful that with research teams like A/Prof Ingman’s working so diligently to unravel the causes of breast cancer, a diagnosis of the disease will be something my daughter and primary school aged grand-daughter will not have to cope with,” Robyn said.

By increasing their knowledge of the biological factors that underpin breast cancer susceptibility, A/Prof Ingman said they might one day be able to close these windows of risk, and reduce women’s lifetime risk of breast cancer.

The team is now working to unravel the mechanisms that are responsible for the increased risk and taking steps to alter them.

Breast Cancer: A Mother’s Perspective

“I never asked ‘why me’, I was never angry. But I was sad that Joel was doing year 12, and that I may never see him with a girlfriend. I was worried that this experience may impact Blake for the rest of his life. All of those important life events I might miss, everything a mother looks forward to.” Despite being given the all clear, Jenni still has more surgeries to come and lives with constant side-effects from surgeries and treatments. Thankfully though, Jenni didn’t have to go through it alone. She had wonderful support from those she calls her cheerleaders.

She would like to offer you five tips that helped her family get through the hard times, whether you know someone with breast cancer or are going through it yourself:1. Tell your friends and family about your diagnosis so they can support you. 2. A lot of people want to help but they don’t know how, so ask a friend to organise a cooking roster. I felt ‘mother guilt’ because I couldn’t cook for my boys so having food already made was a huge help. 3. Organise play dates. If you know that someone is having chemo on a Tuesday, invite their kids for a sleep over. Or better yet invite them over on the Thursday or Friday night, as chemo hits hardest in the following days. 4. Don’t say ‘call me if you need anything’. Don’t offer, just do. 5. Lastly and most importantly, don’t forget the partner or children. My family all had their lives and routines disrupted and workloads increase throughout my treatment. They also had fears and hard days and still do, so do anything you can to help them. So this Mother’s Day maybe you can do something to help a family going through a tough time.

If you would like to make a donation to vital breast cancer research this Mother’s Day simply fill out the enclosed donation form and we’ll send you a beautiful card to give to a special woman in your life.

(L-R) Jenni with some of her “cheerleaders”;

son Joel, husband Craig and youngest son

Blake last Mother’s Day.

Harshani Jayasinghe believes prevention is better than cure when it comes to breast cancer.

A Forgotten Breast Cancer Risk...likely that fibroblasts play a role in breast cancer risk.” Harshani’s honours project investigated how fibroblasts differ in function from high density to low density breast tissue when stimulated with TGFB and Estrogen; two key reagents which are also found within the breast. Women who were either undergoing breast cancer or reduction surgery at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital kindly donated healthy breast tissue to assist with the study. “When fibroblasts were extracted from these tissues we found that there were specific genes which showcased different patterns of expression depending on whether they were from high density or low density breast tissue.”With further research into these very early findings, it is possible that in the future, this could form the basis of identifying a possible therapy to decrease breast density in women who have high density breasts, and therefore lower breast cancer risk.Prevention research does not receive as much funding as other areas of breast cancer research, but in Harshani’s opinion prevention is better than cure. Harshani believes investigating all breast cancer risk

factors is important, however the level of attention MD receives doesn’t seem to compare to its impact. “50% of women between the age of 40 and 49 years and 30% of women aged 70–79 have breasts which are at least 50% dense, which reinforces the importance of why we must find out how MD is contributing to breast cancer risk.” “Finding a way to prevent breast cancer in women with high MD could help so many women, and it feels good to be working on a project that has real impact.”

Honours student Harshani Jayasinghe is passionate about the area of breast cancer prevention research. Her particular research interest is in Mammographic Density (MD); the density of a women’s breast tissue. Women with high MD have a 4-6 times increased risk of developing breast cancer, a relative risk that is substantially larger than any other risk factor for breast cancer. This includes the more commonly known BRCA carrier status, which comparatively is responsible for significantly fewer breast cancer cases; an estimated 2-5%.1 in 3 breast cancers can be explained by Mammographic Density. Harshani, who is part of the Breast Biology and Cancer Unit at the Basil Hetzel Institute (BHI), said even though MD is a significant contributing factor to breast cancer risk it is sitting on the sidelines as a research focus. Her study is one of few projects that have investigated the biological mechanisms of MD and why it is contributing to an increased risk of breast cancer. “Little is known about what causes high breast density and its increased risk of breast cancer. However a link has been found between high collagen content, which is a structural component of the breast, and high breast density,” said Harshani. “Fibroblasts are the main type of cells that produce collagen; so it is

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Australian Breast Cancer Research (ABCR) collaborates with The Hospital Research Foundation to fund vital breast cancer research at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research.

finding a cure with your help www.abcr.com.aupage 4

Thanks to Clare Landy and her nine-year-old son

Stephen who participated in the Spring Cycle, a

15km bike ride through Sydney last October.

Earlier in 2013 Clare and

Stephen lost their sister-

in-law and aunty to breast

cancer, so they decided to

fundraise for ABCR. They

raised more than $1,000.

Clare is already thinking

about training for the next

ride, hoping that both her

younger son and husband will

join her and Stephen this time

around!

The Chartered Accountants Women’s Group in Adelaide held an inaugural Pink Ribbon Lunch to kindly raise funds for ABCR. Guests were greeted with a welcoming pink carpet and heard from four inspiring guest speakers while enjoying a delicious lunch. All in all they raised $2,600 with half the funds supporting Australian Breast Cancer Research. Thank you to the CA Women’s Group for your support!

Maria and Chris Giannoudis held their annual Cancer Support Dinner Dance at the Krystal Function Centre, Adelaide in March.On the night guests enjoyed a delightful Greek feast and

plenty of dancing. A fantastic $21,260 was raised to support the work of Professor Andreas Evdokiou and his team from the Breast Cancer Research Unit at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Thank you to Maria and Chris for your amazing efforts.

Kelly Burman donated $200 to ABCR through

selling body wraps through the It Works! business.

She donated $5 from each body wrap sold.

The majority of her clientele

are women, so they are all very

passionate about raising money for

breast cancer research. She lost her

mother to breast cancer when she

was 14-years-old so this cause is

very near and dear to her heart.

From everyone at ABCR – thank you

Kelly.

During the time you have friends over for dinner 40 Australians will be diagnosed

with cancer. You can help change this.

Host a Longest Table dinner on Saturday the 28th of June to fight cancer. Your dinner can be as laid back or as elaborate as you like. Whether it’s a pizza or burger night or a sumptuous 8 course feast!

Last year the inaugural event raised over $50,000 for lifesaving cancer research. This year we want

you to help make The Longest Table even longer! Register your dinner online today and invite your family and friends to join you. It’s a fun, simple concept with lifesaving significance. Sign up now www.thelongesttable.com.au

The Longest TableFun. Simple. LifesavingThanks to eve

ryone

who shared a

#nomakeupselfie

online in March

- over $3,000

was raised for

Australian Breast

Cancer Research in

a matter of hours!

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