Breast cancer research

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the world. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths among New Zealand women and one in nine women will be affected during their lifetime. The disease has a significant impact on public health because it affects women in mid-life when they are raising children and contributing to the workplace and communities. Finding ways to reduce death and illness due to breast cancer is a major public health priority.

Over the last 20 years there has been significant progress in the way breast cancer is treated and the mortality rate has been steadily declining. However, a significant number of New Zealand women still die from breast cancer or suffer from recurrent disease. It is important that we find new strategies for treating the disease.

The Liggins Institute’s breast cancer research group was founded by Professor Peter Lobie who has worked at two of the world’s most prestigious research centres: the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore and is an international expert in the fields of oncology and endocrinology.

Our research team has demonstrated that abnormal local (autocrine) production of human growth hormone (hGH) plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of breast cancer.

Our current research is focused on further delineating the role that autocrine hGH plays in the development of cancer. In addition, we have identified several potential oncogenes which are either regulated by autocrine hGH or are secreted by cancer cells.

One of the most exciting prospects for the treatment of breast cancer is ‘targeted therapies’. These are treatments which block the growth and spread of cancer cells by targeting specific molecules that are necessary for tumours to grow and spread. Our current research is focused on indentifying new targets for the treatment of breast cancer.