With UNC Lineberger members Dr. Bob Millikan, who is the Barbara Sorenson Hulka Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Dr. Lisa Carey, associate professor of hematology/oncology and director of the UNC Breast Center, Perou has translated these molecular subtypes to the wider patient population. Using a North Carolina-based study of a population-representative breast cancer patient set, this team found that pre-menopausal African American women are diagnosed with one particular subtype, the basal-like tumor, twice as often as their Caucasian counterparts - providing significant insight into racial disparities that have long been known to exist in breast cancer mortality. Ongoing work is demonstrating that each breast cancer subtype has distinct risk factors.

In presenting the award, AACR notes that Perou's laboratory discoveries are being incorporated into clinical practice - the treatment of patients - worldwide. The organization also cites his international leadership in bioinformatics analysis of gene expression data and notes that these techniques will help researchers better compare animal models of cancer with those in humans, potentially speeding up preclinical trials of new therapeutic agents.

The award recognizes an investigator "whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of breast cancer" according to the AACR web site.

Source: University of North Carolina School of Medicine