According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among African-American women. Since 2003, Dr. Veena Rao has been a Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) professor and co-director of the Cancer Biology Program and Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar at the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence, a satellite site of MSM. Rao has been leading revolutionary research efforts against a form of breast cancer that disproportionately affects women of color.

Q: You are the recipient of some very impressive awards.
A: I guess so. In 2003, I received the Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar award by the governor of Georgia. This award is given to researchers for excellence in cancer research with groundbreaking ideas so they can detect and prevent existing cancers earlier and secure federal funding for cutting-edge cancer research. In 2005, I received the Emerald Honors Senior Investigator Award at the Minorities in Research Science Conference held in Maryland. These awards are given to exceptionally talented minorities from a broad spectrum of scientific fields that are recognized for stellar achievements. In 2006, I received the Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award for scientific leadership and innovative thinking on the job and in the community.

Q: These awards can mean money for future research efforts. Correct?
A: Yes and no. The GCC award, which was given by the governor of Georgia, carries with it a monetary award of $750,000 for cancer research. Being productive and recognized internationally for the work I am doing will help me in getting federal funding. My goals are to bring bench-side discoveries to the bedside and into the product line of pharmaceutical companies to help reduce cancer disparities among minority populations. But who cares about being in the news! What matters in the long run is coming up with a cure for cancer. I don't need trophies. What I need is money for research.

Q: Can you tell us specifically about what you are studying?
A: More than a decade ago scientists discovered the BRCA1 gene, which is mutated or functions abnormally in hereditary and sporadic breast and ovarian cancers. The majority of patients with BRCA1 mutations are estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative and HER-2 receptor-negative. These are called triple-negative breast cancers. Triple-negative breast cancers are more common in young black women and Hispanic women versus their white counterparts. These tumors are aggressive, less responsive to treatment, tend to spread more quickly than estrogen receptor-positive tumors and currently there are no targeted therapies to address these cancers. We have isolated two shorter forms of BRCA1 proteins and currently we are studying their function and therapeutic potential in breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.

Q: What is the breakthrough discovery?
A: We identified a short form of BRCA1 protein named BRCA1a, which is expressed at reduced levels or undetectable in high-grade breast and ovarian cancers. We have shown that inhibition of expression of this protein in normal cells results in cancer and high-level expression results in cell death and growth inhibition. We have a patent for this protein. Our work - published online in the March 26, 2007 issue of Oncogene - has demonstrated for the first time using a gene therapy strategy that introducing BRCA1a gene into triple-negative breast cancers, ovarian and prostate cancers stops tumor development. This major discovery will provide new avenues in the future for the treatment of one of the biggest needs in breast cancer research.

Q: Are Asian or Hispanic women also at risk?
A: Good question. Triple-negative breast cancers are higher among younger African-American women and Hispanic women; Asians show low levels of breast cancers.

Q: How many patients have these triple-negative breast cancers?
A: In a University of North Carolina study reported in the February 2007 issue of SCIENCE, of the 97 pre-menopausal African-American women, 39 percent had triple-negative breast tumors. Among postmenopausal African Americans, the number was 14 percent, whereas among Caucasians, regardless of age, it was 16 percent. Even though breast cancers are more common in whites they are deadlier in blacks.

Q: Those are scary statistics. What has your work shown?
A: For the first time, we have demonstrated [in mice] using a gene therapy strategy that introducing BRCA1a into triple-negative breast cancers and ovarian cancers and prostate cancers stops tumor development. This research is part of our MSM mission to reduce cancer health disparities among minorities.

Q: So you believe that you can increase survival rates with this gene therapy?
A: Yes, if not now, at least in the future. This is just the beginning. We plan to develop novel non-viral vectors expressing BRCAla for in vivo gene therapy into ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer cells and look for suppression of the tumorgenic phenotype both in vitro and in xenograft mouse models. If successful, these nano-BRCAla vectors can be used in the future for effective and safe treatment for patients with triple-negative breast cancers. In fact, recently a team of British doctors carried out the world's first eye operation using gene therapy to cure a sight disorder.

Q: And that's where the money comes in, right?
A: Yes, that's where the need for money comes in. I have written several federal and private grants and am eagerly waiting to hear from them so that I can start working right away. How fast it all happens depends on the flow of money. We are talking a minimum of $250,000 to $500,000 annually for five years. It's my passion to do cancer research. I really enjoy my work.

Q: That is very promising. Has MSM done this breakthrough work alone?
A: Some of this work was done when I was at Drexel Medical School. Those participating in the research include Shyam P. Reddy, Ph.D., professor and co-director of MSM's Cancer Biology Program. Participating in the research from Morehouse School of Medicine were Yuli Chai, M.D., and Joel Okoli, M.D.; from Drexel University, Ningsheng Shao, Ph.D.; from Emory University, Gabriela Oprea, M.D; from the University of Alabama, Edward Partridge, M.D.; and from the National Cancer Institute, Leo Lee, Ph.D.