Rosette Lidereau, PhD
Institut Curie
Paris, France
Paris, France
Titles and Affiliations
Researcher,
Department of Tumor Biology
Research area
Understanding the processes that drive triple-negative breast cancer development to identify new treatment strategies.
Impact
Among breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered the most aggressive. Therapeutic options for TNBC are currently limited and many patients experience resistance. Dr. Lidereau and her team study the early processes in tumor development that lead to the progression of TNBC, searching for proteins that contribute to the disease’s aggressive nature. These studies could inform the development of new treatment strategies.
Progress Thus Far
Dr. Lidereau’s team previously demonstrated that the protein kindlin-1 is generated at high levels in TNBC, and patients whose tumors contain large amounts of kindlin-1 have worse prognosis. They also established that kindlin-1 binds to EGFR, a tumor promoting factor, and plays a role in the propagation of EGFR signaling. Based on this information, the team developed a drug that blocks the function of kindlin-1. They found that the drug successfully blocked cancer cell invasion and survival in experimental models. Over the last year, they continued refining the drug and submitted a patent application.
What’s next
The team will determine how their newly developed drug functions in cells, as determining this mechanism is an important stage in the drug development process. They will also continue optimizing the drug’s effectiveness and will test potential combination therapies.
Biography
Dr. Rosette Lidereau received her PhD in oncology and immunology in 1987 from the Pasteur Institute (working with Chairman and Prof. Barret-Sinoussi) and completed a fellowship in the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda (Prof. R. Callahan). In 1992, she was recruited by the INSERM (Institut National des Sciences et de la Recherche Médicale), where she served as a Research Director. From 2000, she headed the INSERM Unit U735, a laboratory dedicated to the molecular characterization of breast cancers at the Centre René Huguenin, Saint-Cloud, France.
Dr. Lidereau's scientific career has focused on the biology of breast cancer. Her research interests are the evaluation of oncogenes and the implication of tumor suppressor genes in breast tumorigenesis and their impact in the clinic as prognostic and predictive factors in breast cancer. Her work has been published in peer reviewed journals in which she has authored over 250 scientific articles. She has received several awards including the Henry et Mary-Jane Mitjavile prize from the Academy of Medicine (2005). In addition, she has been actively involved in numerous national and international organizations, including the international TRANSBIG research network and European Union Programmes (framework IV and VI).
Currently she pursues her research activities in the Genetics Laboratory in the Department of Tumor Biology at Institut Curie, Paris. Her investigations focus on the molecular determinants of breast cancer metastasis and their involvement in organ-specificity.
