Translating Novel Breast Cancer Genetic Markers from the Bench to the Clinic

Broad studies examining entire genomes of breast cancer patients are identifying a growing list of individual parts of DNA sequences called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, that appear to predict the risk of developing breast cancer. But even as more SNPs are found, improvements in risk prediction have been modest.

The goal of this study is to advance the precise targeting of breast cancer prevention and early detection by rapidly moving from the discovery of these genetic markers to their application in clinical settings. We also hope to add to the markers’ predictive power by pairing SNP discoveries with more information on an observed physical difference — breast density — that captures the effects of both genes and the environment.

This project creates a new collaborative, multidisciplinary team and uses data from the Wisconsin Women’s Health Study to translate basic research to the clinic, establish a new technique linking to clinical records to create better breast cancer data sets and improve prediction models to stratify breast cancer risk — all with the hope of decreasing the burden of breast cancer in Wisconsin and beyond.

This project will be funded jointly by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education and the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center.