Faculty members are pioneering a new field in breast cancer research that could lead to treatments that are both more effective and more affordable than those currently available.
"AKU's research could impact the diagnosis and treatment of patients with breast cancer not only in Pakistan but globally."
Professor El-Nasir Lalani
Researchers led by Professor El-Nasir Lalani – Director of AKU’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research – are exploring the capacity of androgens to protect against breast cancer and to fight various subtypes of breast cancer. They have found that women with breast cancers that are androgen-receptor positive have enhanced survival times of up to 10 years.
The researchers’ experimental work on breast cancer cell lines has demonstrated that testosterone significantly inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells driven by an onco-protein called HER-2. This inhibitory effect is as effective as utilizing Herceptin, a drug for HER-2-positive breast cancers that costs tens of thousands of dollars for a full treatment course.
The results are especially notable because treatments utilizing testosterone alone would be significantly cheaper than Herceptin – as would utilizing Herceptin in combination with testosterone, because it would lower the required Herceptin dose.
Assistant Professor Nazia Riaz, a breast surgeon and member of Professor Lalani’s team, is extending the study to other breast cancer subtypes and is seeking funds to undertake a clinical trial to determine if the laboratory findings can be reproduced in a clinical setting.
“Our aim is that the research we undertake results in the development of affordable and optimal treatments for patients with breast cancers and other cancers,” she said.
Faculty members are pioneering a new field in breast cancer research that could lead to treatments that are both more effective and more affordable than those currently available.
"AKU's research could impact the diagnosis and treatment of patients with breast cancer not only in Pakistan but globally."
Professor El-Nasir Lalani
Researchers led by Professor El-Nasir Lalani – Director of AKU’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research – are exploring the capacity of androgens to protect against breast cancer and to fight various subtypes of breast cancer. They have found that women with breast cancers that are androgen-receptor positive have enhanced survival times of up to 10 years.
The researchers’ experimental work on breast cancer cell lines has demonstrated that testosterone significantly inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells driven by an onco-protein called HER-2. This inhibitory effect is as effective as utilizing Herceptin, a drug for HER-2-positive breast cancers that costs tens of thousands of dollars for a full treatment course.
The results are especially notable because treatments utilizing testosterone alone would be significantly cheaper than Herceptin – as would utilizing Herceptin in combination with testosterone, because it would lower the required Herceptin dose.
Assistant Professor Nazia Riaz, a breast surgeon and member of Professor Lalani’s team, is extending the study to other breast cancer subtypes and is seeking funds to undertake a clinical trial to determine if the laboratory findings can be reproduced in a clinical setting.
“Our aim is that the research we undertake results in the development of affordable and optimal treatments for patients with breast cancers and other cancers,” she said.
