The presentation of scientific research on the link between a newly discovered virus and breast cancer won University of NSW researcher, Caroline Ford, the British Council Fresh Science Award in 2003.

The research by Caroline Ford at the University of New South Wales found more than 40% of Australian breast cancer samples contain a newly discovered virus compared to only 2% of normal breast tissue samples.

“If this virus does in fact play a role in breast cancer it opens up the possibility of a preventative vaccine,” said Ms Ford. “However we have to do much more work to prove the link.”

Fresh Science is a national program to bring public attention to the unsung achievements of young Australian scientists. There were one hundred and ten scientists nominated for the 16 places in the event in 2003. During National Science Week Caroline spoke to the public, school students and the media about her work.

Caroline has won a professional trip to the UK that she will undertake in September this year. The tour program is to enable interaction with appropriate British counterparts. Caroline will attend the BA Festival of Science and present her research to the Royal Institution of Great Britain. on the 14th September 2004.

“Caroline has demonstrated that complex ideas can be communicated in plain English,” commented British Council Australia Director Simon Gammell “British Council Australia is delighted to be supporting young Australians in the field of scientific research and our Fresh Science Award gives them an opportunity to broaden their horizons by interacting with their UK colleagues.
“One of our aims at the British Council is to foster meaningful communication between our two countries by strengthening the traditional ties we have with new and cutting edge dialogue.
“Caroline Ford, with her ability to translate cutting edge scientific research to a wider audience, fits neatly into that category.”

Breast cancer is the most common cancer of Australian women, affecting 1 in 11 women.

While many risk factors have been identified, no clear causes of breast cancer have been defined. The new virus, known as HHMMTV, is the human homologue of mouse mammary tumour virus which causes more than 95% of breast cancer in mice.

Caroline Ford’s research was conducted with researchers from the Prince of Wales Hospital and published in the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research. The study not only demonstrated a strong link between this virus and breast cancer, it also suggested an association between the virus and more severe forms of breast cancer.

The virus is usually only found in the cancerous and not in the normal breast tissue from women with breast cancer.

“Many people believe that breast cancer is purely a hereditary disease, yet hereditary breast cancer is estimated to account for only 5% of all cases of breast cancer. In other words, we have little idea what causes 19 out of 20 cases. Our preliminary research indicates that a virus may be involved,” Caroline Ford says.

“It’s an exciting discovery, but there’s a lot of work still to do to get sufficient proof of the role of the virus,” said Caroline, “I’m excited at the prospect of the tour and the opportunity to present my work at the Royal Institution in London.”

More about Caroline Ford and her research here.

Fresh Science is a national competition run by ScienceNOW! to identify some of Australia’s most exciting but unreported science achievements by younger researchers.

Check the National Science Week website for more details.