Prof Alan Ashworth
Understanding the genes that increase breast cancer risk
Professor Alan Ashworth is director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre based at The Institute of Cancer Research. He leads the Gene Function team, which is studying how certain faulty genes can increase an individual's risk of developing breast cancer.
A large part of the group’s work focuses on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes. People who inherit faults in either of these genes have a high risk of developing several types of cancer, including breast cancer. Professor Ashworth’s team wants to understand exactly how faults in these genes can trigger normal, healthy cells to develop into cancer cells.
Professor Ashworth contributed to the discovery of BRCA2 in the 1990. Subsequent work from his team, and other scientists, has shown that the protein produced by the BRCA2 gene is involved in DNA repair; that is to say, it acts together with other proteins to fix mistakes in the cell's genetic material.
The team also studies some less well-known genes, such as the LKB1 gene. Faulty copies of LKB1 cause a condition called Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. People with Peutz-Jeghers are prone to developing various cancers. Understanding how faults in genes like LKB1 can lead to cancer could help the team learn more about how certain cancers develop.
Professor Ashworth is involved with the first clinical trial for hereditary breast cancer. This trial aims to find out if platinum-based chemotherapy is more effective for breast cancer patients with faulty BRCA genes than the current standard breast cancer chemotherapy. The results of this trial could have a great impact on breast cancer treatment, and will demonstrate whether cancer treatments can be tailored to a patient's genetic makeup.
Recently, the team is helping test a potentially new way of treating people whose cancers are linked to a faulty copy of BRCA1 or BRCA2. This exploits the 'Achilles’ heel' of the cancer using chemicals called 'PARP inhibitors', which target a protein called PARP. These agents are currently in clinical trials.
