Breast & Ovarian Cancer

By understanding the biological mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancers, we aim to improve cancer diagnosis, interception, and treatment.

Nearly one-third of U.S. women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes. While enhanced screening and treatment strategies have improved 5-year survival rates (to 91% overall [i]), breast cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer-related death for women. Ovarian cancer accounts for far fewer new diagnoses per year (<1% of new cases) but is often diagnosed at late stages when the disease is difficult to treat. This results in a lower overall 5-year relative survival rate of 50.9%.[ii] In addition, people who inherit a mutated copy of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes are at an even greater risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer in their lifetimes.

At the LSP, we use several strategies to improve breast and ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment. One approach uses deep tissue profiling to understand the molecular changes that underlie breast and ovarian cancer development, which can lead to improved biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment or strategies for intercepting and preventing cancer formation. Other efforts harness high-throughput systems pharmacology approaches to identify new therapeutic strategies for halting and eradicating tumors. 

LSP investigators Sandro Santagata and Peter Sorger serve as leaders for the Gray Foundation’s BRCA Precancer Atlas, which seeks to improve the prevention and treatment of cancers associated with BRCA1/2 mutation. We aim to understand the molecular changes that underlie breast and ovarian cancer and collaborate closely with clinicians to apply new molecular knowledge to improve clinical practice.