Dr. Patrick Murphy, an assistant professor in the UPEI Department of Biology, has received a $300,000 grant through the Canadian Cancer Society’s 2021 Atlantic Cancer Research (ACR) Grants competition for research into breast cancer.

Murphy’s grant was one of 10 awarded in the 2021 ACR Grants competition, which funds all areas of cancer research, including biomedical, clinical, health services, and (psycho)social, cultural, environmental and population health research. 

“Breast cancer kills approximately 5,000 women each year in Canada and 400 across the Atlantic region,” said Murphy. “Some breast cancer subtypes, such as the so-called triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs), have few treatment options. This is changing due to recent discoveries that some TNBCs grow by breaking down glucose into an amino acid called serine. However, the role of serine in the growth of tumour cells is not fully understood, and drugs that directly inhibit serine synthesis have not yet been successful. Studying how serine synthesis helps tumour growth may provide highly desired alternative treatments for TNBCs.”
 

Evidence from Murphy’s laboratory indicates that serine is made into other molecules in cells that may help TNBCs grow. These same molecules also circulate in human plasma, potentially undermining the effectiveness of drugs that target serine biosynthesis. The goal is to find out what these metabolites do and if they decrease the ability to inhibit serine biosynthesis in TNBCs. 

To find out how molecules like serine support tumour growth, Murphy’s laboratory specializes in the use of technology aimed at finding out what other molecules they interact with. Murphy and his team, which includes collaborators within UPEI and at Dalhousie University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Illinois Chicago, will first identify these interactions and further determine if they allow TNBCs to escape the effects of existing serine biosynthesis inhibitors. If they do, this will lead to new ways to block serine’s ability to help TNBCs grow.

“This project presents a unique opportunity to provide much-needed progress in targeting breast cancers that currently have the poorest outcomes,” he said. “As well, the findings of the project have the potential to influence treatment for other cancers such as lung cancers, leukemias, and Ewing sarcomas.”

Dr. Katherine Gottschall-Pass, interim vice-president academic and research at UPEI, congratulated Murphy on his success in the Atlantic Cancer Research Grants competition.

“While advances continue to be made in the treatment of breast and other cancers, the disease continues to be a significant human health challenge,” she said. “It is through research like Dr. Murphy’s that we will meet this challenge head-on.”

Of 51 applications submitted to the 2021 ACR Grants competition, the 10 accepted were funded for a total of just over $2.8 million. Funding for eight grants was provided by the J.D. Irving, Limited — Excellence in Cancer Research Fund. Additional funding was provided by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Fund.