Research highlighted during awareness month

TO mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute is shining a light its research and commending the patient samples that facilitate it.

One of FECRI’s latest projects, which commenced in March of this year, was made possible after seed funding from a private philanthropic donation and the $300,000 raised at last February’s Ballarat Cycle Classic.

In addition to that funding, another essential to the breast cancer research program are patient samples.

As part of that program long-term corporate supporter Lake Imaging has been a key contributor to the sample collection process which utilises state of the art technology imaging.

FECRI head Professor George Kannourakis said that the breast cancer project needs patient samples to continue to develop its work.

“Our research program is possible, because of our tissue bank of nearly 4500 patient samples,” he said.

“It’s the support of community minded and forward-thinking businesses like Lake Imaging who give important support to the Institute that makes it possible to develop world first research into all cancers including breast cancer.

“We look forward to working with Lake Imaging to continue to undertake cutting edge research into cancer treatment development.”

Working alongside Professor Kannourakis, the research team also includes Dr Aparna Jayachandran, honorary research fellow and oncologist Dr Prashanth Prithviraj and Federation University PhD candidate Revati Sharma.

In addition to these core researchers, groups from the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, University of Melbourne, University of Alberta in Canada, Queensland University of Technology, Translational Research Institute and La Trobe University also lent a helping hand.

Since beginning the project, the group has since published world first findings describing the behaviour and function of a pregnancy associated plasma protein which is often found in aggressive triple-negative breast cancers.