Cosmetics giant Avon is sponsoring two doctors to carry out vital breast cancer research at the internationally renowned Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, as part of Avon's ongoing commitment to tackling the disease. Dr Kai-Keen Shiu and Dr Juanita Lopez will be moving from working in hospital wards to scientific laboratories to help bridge the gap between laboratory research and patients in the clinic.
Both doctors are being funded for three years through Avon's Breast Cancer Crusade Programme - the only such initiative in the UK to be funded by a beauty company. The programme supports individuals working on research which focuses on developing results from the laboratory into better ways to diagnose and treat patients as quickly as possible. This 'bench to bedside' approach is strongly advocated by Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
Professor Alan Ashworth, Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, says: "Dr Shiu and Dr Lopez are not only gaining formal research training but also a greater understanding of how research can transfer from the laboratory to the clinic. Individuals like these two doctors are vital in translating new findings effectively and helping new developments reach the people who need it most."
Dr Kai-Keen Shiu's research focuses on a type of breast cancer called HER2 positive which accounts for around one in five of all breast cancer cases. Herceptin is a key treatment for HER2 positive breast cancer but some women with this form of the disease don't benefit from Herceptin at all, while for others, the drug can stop working over time. Dr Shiu is investigating why this can sometimes happen and hopes his research will help to develop new ways to treat patients with HER2 positive breast cancer and ensure each patient receives the most effective treatment for them.
Dr Shiu says: "Without understanding the biology of cancer through laboratory research I don't think I will be as good a doctor as I want to be, which is why it's fantastic that Avon is helping to fund research into breast cancer."
Meanwhile Dr Juanita Lopez's research focuses on 'apoptosis' - a natural self-defence mechanism to get rid of damaged cells in the human body. Cancer cells are resistant to this process which means they have the ability to continue growing unchecked. By investigating how to encourage apoptosis to take place in breast cancer cells, Dr Lopez hopes to find ways to make these cells more sensitive to treatment. Her work could have important implications in the future for expanding treatment options for women with breast cancer.
Dr Lopez adds: "This funding will allow me to explore basic questions around the nature of breast cancer to ultimately help the patients I treat. I have always known Avon as a cosmetic brand and I think the Avon Fellowship, which provides doctors a chance to do cutting edge research, is a very forward thinking initiative."
Avon Cosmetics has raised more than £13 million for Breakthrough Breast Cancer over the past 16 years. Anna Segatti, President of Avon UK & Ireland says: "I am delighted to welcome Dr Shiu and Dr Lopez to our Fellowship programme; their research has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of women with breast cancer.
"Avon currently has four 'Dr Avons' working on vital research at the Breakthrough Research Centre. We are committed to fighting breast cancer through research and ensuring results are translated to patient benefits as quickly as possible."
Breakthrough Breast Cancer needs to raise at least £25 million each year for the next three years to support its vital research, campaigning and education work. For more information about the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, please visit http://www.avon.uk.com. For more information about Breakthrough Breast Cancer, please visit http://www.breakthrough.org.uk.
- Dr Kai-Keen Shiu is a third year Medical Oncology Specialist Registrar in North London. Prior to starting his research at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research he most recently spent one year treating patients at University College Hospital. Throughout his Specialist Registrar training he has been involved in the recruitment and management of patients in several Phase II and III trials. He entered Guys' & St Thomas' Medical & Dental School in 1993, completing an Intercalated BSc (Hons) in Experimental Pathology in 1996. He graduated with his medical degree in 1999, followed by the Diploma of Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in 2004.
Dr Juanita Lopez graduated from Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge in 2001 with her medical degree and obtained her Diploma of Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in February 2005. She has completed just over two years of training as a Medical Oncology Specialist Registrar, most recently at Guys & St Thomas' Hospital in London, following her basic medical training.
- Dr Kai-Keen Shiu and Dr Juanita Lopez are the third and fourth doctors to be funded by Avon Cosmetics. They join fellow 'Dr Avons', Dr Susana Banerjee and Dr Hartmut Kristeleit, in undertaking breast cancer research at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre.
Avon Cosmetics
- Avon has supported Breakthrough Breast Cancer for 16 years in the form of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. Thanks to associates, customers and 170,000 sales Representatives in the UK, Avon has raised more than £14 million for breast cancer charities, with £13 million for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, largely through sales of special fundraising products and employee fundraising activities.
- Avon is Breakthrough Breast Cancer's longest standing corporate partner.
- Avon Cosmetics is the world's leading direct seller of beauty and related products, with a global annual turnover of $10 billion. Avon markets to women in over 100 countries through 5.4 million independent sales Representatives. Visit http://www.avon.uk.com or more information.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer
- Breakthrough Breast Cancer is the UK's leading breast cancer charity committed to fighting breast cancer through research, campaigning and education. In 1999 Breakthrough established the UK's first dedicated breast cancer research centre. The Breakthrough Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre is housed in the Mary-Jean Mitchell Green building at The Institute of Cancer Research and was set up in association with the Royal Marsden Hospital.
- Under the directorship of Professor Alan Ashworth FRS, the Breakthrough Research Centre now has 120 world-class scientists and clinicians tackling breast cancer from all angles - from understanding the normal growth and development of the breast, how breast cancer arises and how the cancer spreads, to treatment and ultimately disease prevention. Scientists at the Breakthrough Research Centre have a range of expertise and approaches and together they are working towards a common goal: a future free from the fear of breast cancer.
The Institute of Cancer Research
- The Institute of Cancer Research is Europe's leading cancer research centre with expert scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Website at: http://www.icr.ac.uk.
- The Institute is a charity that relies on voluntary income. The Institute is one of the world's most cost-effective major cancer research organisations with over 95p in every pound of total income directly supporting research.
Breast cancer
- Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK - over 44,000 women and around 300 men are diagnosed every year.
- Breast cancer accounts for nearly 1 in 3 of all female cancers and one in nine women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime.
- The good news is that more women than ever in the UK are surviving breast cancer thanks to better awareness, better treatments and better screening.
