Funded Research Projects
Breast Cancer Cure has invested more than $12 million into life-saving breast cancer research in New Zealand over the past 29 years, with a clear goal of ensuring all New Zealanders not only survive breast cancer, but thrive beyond it. By funding transformative projects and fellowships that focus on more precise prevention, earlier detection, improved diagnosis and more effective treatments using advanced technologies, we are working to improve outcomes, address inequities, and support a better quality of life for everyone affected.
Proudly funding breast cancer research at leading New Zealand institutes
BARD1: a new prognostic marker for triple negative breast cancer
ProblemTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that makes up about 20% of all cases. It often spreads quickly, especially to the brain, which can seriously lower a patient’s...
A novel type of cancer biomarker: detection of the inactive amyloid protein state of p16
Problem: A new type of anti-cancer drug called CDK-inhibitors has become available and is funded in New Zealand for certain breast cancer patients. These drugs are powerful, but only one-third of p...
Targeting Breast Cancer Metastasis With Heparan Sulfate Mimetics
This research team combines leading expertise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry and cancer biology. They will evaluate the expression of heparanase, an enzyme that degrades the extracellular mat...
Preventing Breast Cancer Metastasis With Conjugate Vaccines Targeting Human HER2
The aim of this novel and ambitious project is to develop potent new vaccines with potential to prevent recurrence of HER2 positive breast cancer. This is made possible through the team’s prior exp...
Development of inhibitors of PC-PLC as anticancer therapeutics
Project ObjectiveMany patients with metastatic breast cancer do not respond to conventional chemotherapy and better strategies to treat these patients are urgently needed. An enzyme called phosphat...
Targeting growth hormone signal transduction in breast cancer
Project ObjectiveOne of the most successful strategies for treating breast cancer has been the use of humanised monoclonal antibodies to target secreted growth factors or cell surface receptors who...
The potential of immunotherapy as a treatment for ER+ve breast cancer
Project ObjectiveTreatments that stimulate the immune system to attack tumours have revolutionised the treatment of some cancer types. However, these treatments have not yet been used effectively i...
Using CRISPR-Cas9 to predict sensitivity to trastuzumab emtansine
Project ObjectiveOver 3000 diagnoses and 600 deaths are attributable to breast cancer in New Zealand each year. One-quarter of breast cancers is driven by increased amounts of a gene called HER2, w...
Targeting the immune response to improve outcomes in ER+ve breast cancer
Project ObjectiveEvery year, more than 2000 New Zealand women are diagnosed with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Most of these women are treated with therapies that target production or ...
Funding a diverse range
Breast Cancer Cure funds a diverse range of research projects aimed at advancing the prevention, detection and treatment of breast cancer, including the use of antibodies as targeted therapies to control cancer cell growth, ongoing work in early detection through the identification of potential blood markers, research into immunotherapy that harnesses the body’s own immune system, and the use of patient tissue samples to create patient-derived explants that allow researchers to study breast cancer in more personalised and effective ways.
