Research summary
Numerous links have been suggested between breast cancer and environmental exposures. Dr. Mousumi Majumder, Canada Research Chair in Genotoxicology, hopes to identify the environmental factors associated with breast cancer and find biomarkers for early detection.
Majumder and her research team are identifying gene-environment interactions by analyzing molecular markers in breast tumour and disease-free control tissues and conducting a case-control association study. They are also identifying breast cancer biomarkers by comparing malignant and healthy plasma proteins using mass spectrometry and functional validation. Ultimately, they hope to establish a program to promote breast cancer awareness to reduce the occurrence of cancer.