In breast cancer patients, human growth hormone (GH) production in tumours is associated with an increased risk of metastasis as well as reduced survival. This means that if GH production can be blocked, as it is in humans and animals born with a GH-receptor deficiency, this risk could be dramatically reduced, if not eliminated.
Professor Perry and her team will use a specialised assay to discover and develop molecules that can be used to inhibit the GH receptor and, therefore, block GH production. They will then test these inhibitors to determine whether they could be used as a therapeutic treatment for breast cancer patients.