Leveraging AI to Explore Breast Density and its Implications on Māori and Pacific Women's Health in Aotearoa New Zealand

Breast cancer is a major health concern that often goes undetected until it's too late, particularly among Māori and Pacific women in New Zealand. Our new research project aims to change that by using advanced Artificial Intelligence to analyze mammograms more precisely. The focus is on 'breast density,' a factor that can hide cancer from traditional screenings.

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BARD1: a new prognostic marker for triple negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for up to 20% of all breast cancer cases. For nearly half of all TNBC patients, their cancer will spread, frequently to the brain. Notably, for TNBC patients the spread to the brain happens earlier than in other breast cancers, which reduces both quality of life and life expectancy. Sadly, once the cancer has spread to the brain treatment options are limited, have severe side effects, and often only give minor improvements in overall survival.

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A novel type of cancer biomarker: detection of the inactive amyloid protein state of p16

A new class of anti-cancer drugs called CDK-inhibitors has recently entered the international market and PHARMAC funds these drugs for specific breast cancer treatments in Aotearoa New Zealand. These novel compounds are highly efficient and greatly expand our ability to treat this deadly disease. Nevertheless, only about one third of patients respond positively to this drug treatment and unfortunately, there is no predictive measure of which patients will benefit.

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