Powering research into breastfeeding’s protective role against breast cancer
04 February 2025
Cancer Council Victoria (CCV) has awarded Peter Mac researcher, Dr Balaji Virassamy a 2024 CCV Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate the protective effects of childbearing and breastfeeding against breast cancer, with a particular focus on triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).
His research under the guidance of Professor Sherene Loi and team, aims to uncover the key cellular and molecular processes that protect breast tissue from cancer growth following pregnancy and lactation.
Dr Virassamy said, “Our research will delve into how childbearing, lactation, and the consequent breast tissue remodeling improve the quantity and quality of immune response that may form the first line of defence against breast cancer.”
“We know from previous studies that a longer duration of breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer, particularly TNBC. However, we don’t fully understand the exact cellular or molecular mechanisms that strengthen and protect breast tissue from cancer after pregnancy and lactation.
“Our project will explore the role of lactation induced immune cells, particularly the breast infiltrating T cells that are retained, in healthy tissue, and in primary TNBC tumours which will help us to understand how breast resident T cells contribute to long-term protection against breast cancer.”
The research will further examine the prognostic associations of tissue protective T cells that developed in normal breast with breast cancer gene expression datasets to help determine if the lactation induced immune cells are indeed good indicators of disease outcome.
Professor Ricky Johnstone, Executive Director of Cancer Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, highlighted the significance of this research.
“Dr Virassamy’s work is crucial in advancing our understanding of the immune system’s role in breast cancer protection in the long-term,” said Professor Johnstone.
“The grant will enable Dr Virassamy to investigate the dynamic early immunological changes that occur in healthy breast tissue after pregnancy and lactation, potentially leading to an improved understanding of the crucial mechanisms of immune defence that intercept TNBC growth.”
This groundbreaking research holds promise for developing new protective strategies against breast cancer that may improve overall breast immune health, offering hope to many women worldwide.