“From Breast Cancer to Precision Medicine: Opportunities and Challenges”

Chu-Xia Deng, Ph.D.
Dean and Chair Professor
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Macau

In 2012, 14.1 million newly diagnosed cancer cases were diagnosed and 8.2 million cancer patients died worldwide. By 2035, the global burden is expected to grow to 23 million new cancer cases and 14.6 million cancer deaths. Based on statistics, medical waste due to unnecessary treatment or ineffective treatment amounted to 75 billion US dollars per year, equivalent to 30% of healthcare expenditure in the USA. To overcome this difficulty and improve healthcare, US President Barack Obama called, on 21st January 2015, for the launch of Precision Medicine, which is defined as the tailoring of clinical strategies based on genomic, genetic, behavioral and environment background of individual patients. In the past 20 years, my lab has been studying the breast cancer associated gene 1 (BRCA1) in mouse models for human breast cancer. Germline mutations of BRCA1 have been found in approximately 30% of familial breast cancer cases and the majority of combined familial breast and ovary cancers. Although many progresses have been made, our data revealed that the tumorigenesis associated with BRCA1 is extremely complex; and cancer metastasis as well as drug resistance occur frequently through multiple mechanisms. Here I will discuss opportunities and challenges we have in conducting cancer research in Macau, as well as our efforts in identifying drivers for cancer initiation, progression, and drug resistance for the development of effective therapies.

This is a joint seminar with the Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry