VCCC Alliance Breast Cancer Grand Round

with Associate Professor Liz Caldon

5 April 2023

CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance in ER+ breast cancer: mechanisms and new therapeutic targets

Metastatic ER+ breast cancers are now routinely treated with CDK4/6 inhibitors in combination with endocrine therapies, which can prolong progression-free survival. The problem? For most patients, resistance is inevitable.

Join us to hear Garvan Institute Lab Head Associate Professor Liz Caldon delve into the complexity of resistance in ER+ breast cancer and how to target it.

Background

Whilst the development of resistance mechanisms in many patients is unavoidable, Associate Professor Caldon's lab has developed a range of multi-resistant models to understand the complexity of resistance to multiple arms of therapy in ER+ breast cancer. Using an approach of CRISPR screens, RNAseq and patient-derived xenograft models, the team is identifying novel targetable axes for CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance.

Presenter

Associate Professor Liz Caldon
Lab Head, Garvan Institute and Conjoint Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney

Associate Professor Liz Caldon is a Lab Head at the Garvan Institute and Conjoint Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney. Her lab investigates mechanisms of drug resistance in metastatic breast and ovarian cancers. A primary goal is understanding the evolution of hormone therapy resistance in breast cancer, which is a major cause of breast cancer-related death. Based on their findings on the multistep acquisition of drug resistance, Liz and her team are focused on translating knowledge about fundamental breast cancer biology and evolution into targetable therapies that provide clinical benefit.

The VCCC Alliance Breast Cancer Grand Round is targeted at a clinical audience and features open discussion about real cases and patients. While these cases are de-identified, the imagery, content and discussion can be graphic. It is not appropriate for consumer participants.