Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD – VAI Seminar Series

The Convergence of Genomic Medicine and Translational Omics in Transforming Breast Cancer

Speaker Information

Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD
Associate Dean for Global Health
Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor
Director, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
University of Chicago, Dept. of Medicine

Bio/Abstract: Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, with an estimated 2.3 million new cases and 670,000 deaths reported in 2022.  For decades, the treatment of breast cancer has been based on classification according to estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status. The genomic landscape of breast cancer is notably heterogeneous, including mutations, copy number variations, and structural alterations that impact tumor progression and treatment response. Advances in high-throughput sequencing and computational biology have identified differences in genomic alterations associated with aggressive breast cancer progression and metastasis in diverse populations. Notable findings in the mutational landscape include the mutually exclusive presence of GATA3 and TP53/PIK3CA pathogenic variants, higher levels of intra-tumoral heterogeneity, and genomic instability in breast cancer among Nigerian women, as well as the discovery of a unique breast cancer subtype defined by early clonal pathogenic variants in GATA3 and a younger age at diagnosis A comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneity and complexity of breast cancer across diverse populations, along with intricate disease mechanisms, is fueling innovations aimed at personalizing breast cancer care and reducing global disparities in outcomes.

Host: Dr. Peter Jones and the Department of Cell Biology

If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Olopade please visit: https://med-faculty.bsd.uchicago.edu/Default/Details/2807