The challenge 

Around 1 in 400 people worldwide carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, increasing their lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. For women who carry a BRCA1 mutation, up to 65% will develop breast cancer by age 80, while the risk is around 45% for women with a BRCA2 mutation. Because of this high risk, many women choose preventative surgery to reduce their risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. Others undergo regular screening to help ensure cancer can be detected as early as possible.

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Professor Jane Visvader and Professor Geoff Lindeman from the Breast Cancer Laboratory at WEHI are working to better understand how healthy cells become cancerous in people who carry BRCA mutations. Their goal is to generate the knowledge needed to develop new approaches that could one day prevent breast cancer without needing life-altering surgery.

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The role of philanthropy

Hearts & Minds funding, as nominated by Cooper Investors, enabled this project to get underway and has since helped researchers secure an additional $186,000 in funding to expand the work.

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To understand how breast cancer begins, researchers are using unique barcodes to track individual breast cells over time, revealing the changes that occur as healthy cells progress towards cancer. By mapping these early changes, the team hopes to identify new opportunities to intervene before cancer develops. Although the project is still in its early stages, researchers have already introduced around 2,000 unique barcodes into thousands of breast cells and are now using these models to study how cells evolve.

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What this could unlock

Professor Jane Visvader and Professor Geoff Lindeman’s vision is to give women with BRCA mutations more options beyond extensive, life-altering preventative surgeries, providing future generations with greater choice and peace of mind. Ultimately, researchers hope this work will lead to new treatments that could be tested in clinical trials, helping improve outcomes for people at higher risk of developing breast cancer.

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This project is supported by Hearts and Minds Investments, as nominated by Cooper Investors. For further information and updates, visit WEHI.