Sherene Loi

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Sherene Loi

Alma mater University of Melbourne (PhD)
Scientific career
Institutions Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Sherene Loi is an Australian oncologist. She is the 2021 winner of the Australian Prime Ministers Prize for Science, in the category of Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. Loi is Head of Translational Breast Cancer Research, within the Peter Macallum Cancer Centre. [1] Loi's research has advanced understanding into breast cancer, developing and implementing an immune system biomarker. This biomarker will enable improved management for people with advanced cancer. This biomarker is now part of routine pathology reporting across many countries and also is included in the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours (the WHO Blue Book on Breast Tumors).

Contents

Early life and career

Loi has an MMBS (Hons), and a PhD, from the University of Melbourne (2008).[ citation needed ] Loi has, from 2018 to 2020, ranked in the top 1% of global researchers, [2] according to the Web of Science, with more than 240 peer-reviewed publications.

Loi is a medical oncologist, and her career involves translational medicine, which includes translating research findings into treatments, including using genomic medicine, for people with breast cancer, both in Australia and around the world. Her research has helped develop findings supporting that immunotherapy, treatment using the immune system to fight cancer, assists with the survival and improved quality of life of patients with advanced breast cancer. [3]

Loi is the co-chair on the International Breast Cancer Study Group Committee (Switzerland), as well as on the Scientific Advisory Committee Member of Breast Cancer trials group. Her research uses genomic medicine to translate interesting scientific findings to improve outcomes for breast cancer patients. [1] As at 2021, her H-index is 90 and she has over 40,000 citations in Google Scholar. [4]

Select publications

Media

Loi's work was described, by the American Assosciation for Cancer Research, as "at the forefront of research on the biological and clinical relevance of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer". The Association states "she is a pioneer in designing and executing clinical trials using immunotherapy agents for the treatment of breast cancer." [9]

When winning the Prime Ministers's award, her work was described as developing a treatment, using immunotherapy, to treat the 'world's first immunotherapy' to treat patients with the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. [10] Her findings may benefit breast cancer patients both in Australia and around the world. [11]

Prizes and awards [12] [3]

YearAward
2023Martin Lackmann Award for Translational Research
2021Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the year
2020Outstanding investigator award for Breast Cancer Research, American Association for Cancer Research
2020European Society of Clinical Oncology Award for Breast Cancer Research.
2021Jian Zhou Medal recipient, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
2019Bruce Cain Award for Clinical Research, New Zealand Society for Oncology
2019Robert Sutherland Award for Excellence in Translational Research, Breast Cancer Trials Group of Australia/NZ
2018-2020Clarivate Analytics – Highly Cited Researcher (Top one per cent) in the field of Clinical Medicine
2018-2022Inaugural Endowed Chair, National Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Australia
2016’Accelerate Discovery’ Individual Category Award, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
2015-2022Research Fellow, Breast Cancer Research Foundation (New York)
2012Career Development Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancer immunotherapy</span> Artificial stimulation of the immune system to treat cancer

Cancer immunotherapy (immuno-oncotherapy) is the stimulation of the immune system to treat cancer, improving on the immune system's natural ability to fight the disease. It is an application of the fundamental research of cancer immunology and a growing subspecialty of oncology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HER2</span> Mammalian protein found in humans

Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 is a protein that normally resides in the membranes of cells and is encoded by the ERBB2 gene. ERBB is abbreviated from erythroblastic oncogene B, a gene originally isolated from the avian genome. The human protein is also frequently referred to as HER2 or CD340.

MammaPrint is a prognostic and predictive diagnostic test for early stage breast cancer patients that assess the risk that a tumor will metastasize to other parts of the body. It gives a binary result, high-risk or low-risk classification, and helps physicians determine whether or not a patient will benefit from chemotherapy. Women with a low risk result can safely forego chemotherapy without decreasing likelihood of disease free survival. MammaPrint is part of the personalized medicine portfolio marketed by Agendia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Rosenberg</span> American cancer researcher

Steven A. Rosenberg is an American cancer researcher and surgeon, chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and a Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He pioneered the development of immunotherapy that has resulted in the first effective immunotherapies and the development of gene therapy. He is the first researcher to successfully insert foreign genes into humans.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is any breast cancer that either lacks or shows low levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression and/or gene amplification. Triple-negative is sometimes used as a surrogate term for basal-like.

Chemoimmunotherapy is chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy. Chemotherapy uses different drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells; immunotherapy uses treatments to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune system to fight cancer. A common chemoimmunotherapy regimen is CHOP combined with rituximab (CHOP-R) for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes</span>

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are white blood cells that have left the bloodstream and migrated towards a tumor. They include T cells and B cells and are part of the larger category of ‘tumor-infiltrating immune cells’ which consist of both mononuclear and polymorphonuclear immune cells, in variable proportions. Their abundance varies with tumor type and stage and in some cases relates to disease prognosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afatinib</span> Chemical compound

Afatinib, sold under the brand name Gilotrif among others, is a medication which is used to treat non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). It belongs to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor family of medications. It is taken by mouth.

Breast cancer classification divides breast cancer into categories according to different schemes criteria and serving a different purpose. The major categories are the histopathological type, the grade of the tumor, the stage of the tumor, and the expression of proteins and genes. As knowledge of cancer cell biology develops these classifications are updated.

Autologous immune enhancement therapy (AIET) is a treatment method in which immune cells are taken out from the patient's body which are cultured and processed to activate them until their resistance to cancer is strengthened and then the cells are put back in the body. The cells, antibodies, and organs of the immune system work to protect and defend the body against not only tumor cells but also bacteria or viruses.

DirectHit is a pharmacodiagnostic test used to determine the tumor sensitivity or resistance to drug regimens recommended for the treatment of breast cancer by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. It is a noninvasive test performed on small amounts of tissue removed during the original surgery lumpectomy, mastectomy, or core biopsy. DirectHit was developed by CCC Diagnostics Inc., a biotechnology company established by former researchers from Johns Hopkins University. DirectHit was launched on 14 January 2010. Currently, it is the only available test for predicting treatment outcomes for anticancer chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trastuzumab emtansine</span> Pharmaceutical drug

Trastuzumab emtansine, sold under the brand name Kadcyla, is an antibody-drug conjugate consisting of the humanized monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) covalently linked to the cytotoxic agent DM1. Trastuzumab alone stops growth of cancer cells by binding to the HER2 receptor, whereas trastuzumab emtansine undergoes receptor-mediated internalization into cells, is catabolized in lysosomes where DM1-containing catabolites are released and subsequently bind tubulin to cause mitotic arrest and cell death. Trastuzumab binding to HER2 prevents homodimerization or heterodimerization (HER2/HER3) of the receptor, ultimately inhibiting the activation of MAPK and PI3K/AKT cellular signalling pathways. Because the monoclonal antibody targets HER2, and HER2 is only over-expressed in cancer cells, the conjugate delivers the cytotoxic agent DM1 specifically to tumor cells. The conjugate is abbreviated T-DM1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancer biomarker</span> Substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body

A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body. A biomarker may be a molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to the presence of cancer. Genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, glycomic, and imaging biomarkers can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and epidemiology. Ideally, such biomarkers can be assayed in non-invasively collected biofluids like blood or serum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pembrolizumab</span> Pharmaceutical drug used in cancer treatment

Pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, is a humanized antibody used in cancer immunotherapy that treats melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, and certain types of breast cancer. It is administered by slow intravenous injection.

In medicine neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is used as a marker of subclinical inflammation. It is calculated by dividing the number of neutrophils by number of lymphocytes, usually from peripheral blood sample, but sometimes also from cells that infiltrate tissue, such as tumor. Recently Lymphocyte Monocyte ratio (LMR) has also been studied as a marker of inflammation including tuberculosis and various cancers.

Edith A. Pérez is a Puerto Rican hematologist-oncologist. She is the Serene M. and Frances C. Durling Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atezolizumab</span> Monoclonal anti-PD-L1 antibody

Atezolizumab, sold under the brand name Tecentriq, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat urothelial carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), hepatocellular carcinoma and alveolar soft part sarcoma, but discontinued for use in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). It is a fully humanized, engineered monoclonal antibody of IgG1 isotype against the protein programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1).

Prognostic markers are biomarkers used to measure the progress of a disease in the patient sample. Prognostic markers are useful to stratify the patients into groups, guiding towards precise medicine discovery. The widely used prognostic markers in cancers include stage, size, grade, node and metastasis. In addition to these common markers, there are prognostic markers specific to different cancer types. For example estrogen level, progesterone and HER2 are markers specific to breast cancer patients. There is evidence showing that genes behaving as tumor suppressors or carcinogens could act as prognostic markers due to altered gene expression or mutation. Besides genetic biomarkers, there are also biomarkers that are detected in plasma or body fluid which can be metabolic or protein biomarkers.

The Immunologic Constant of Rejection (ICR), is a notion introduced by biologists to group a shared set of genes expressed in tissue destructive-pathogenic conditions like cancer and infection, along a diverse set of physiological circumstances of tissue damage or organ failure, including autoimmune disease or allograft rejection. The identification of shared mechanisms and phenotypes by distinct immune pathologies, marked as a hallmarks or biomarkers, aids in the identification of novel treatment options, without necessarily assessing patients phenomenologies individually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cellular adoptive immunotherapy</span> Cellular adoptive immunotherapy

Cellular adoptive immunotherapy is a type of immunotherapy. Immune cells such as T-cells are usually isolated from patients for expansion or engineering purposes and reinfused back into patients to fight diseases using their own immune system. A major application of cellular adoptive therapy is cancer treatment, as the immune system plays a vital role in the development and growth of cancer. The primary types of cellular adoptive immunotherapies are T cell therapies. Other therapies include CAR-T therapy, CAR-NK therapy, macrophage-based immunotherapy and dendritic cell therapy.

References

  1. 1 2 "Professor Sherene Loi". asc.surgeons.org. Retrieved 15 November 2021.[ dead link ]
  2. "Sherene Loi". Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Professor Sherene Loi receives the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year" . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  4. "Sherene Loi". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. Schmid, Peter; Adams, Sylvia; Rugo, Hope S.; Schneeweiss, Andreas; Barrios, Carlos H.; Iwata, Hiroji; Diéras, Véronique; Hegg, Roberto; Im, Seock-Ah; Shaw Wright, Gail; Henschel, Volkmar (29 November 2018). "Atezolizumab and Nab-Paclitaxel in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer". New England Journal of Medicine. 379 (22): 2108–2121. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1809615 . ISSN   0028-4793. PMID   30345906. S2CID   205103462.
  6. Sotiriou, Christos; Wirapati, Pratyaksha; Loi, Sherene; Harris, Adrian; Fox, Steve; Smeds, Johanna; Nordgren, Hans; Farmer, Pierre; Praz, Viviane; Haibe-Kains, Benjamin; Desmedt, Christine (15 February 2006). "Gene Expression Profiling in Breast Cancer: Understanding the Molecular Basis of Histologic Grade To Improve Prognosis". JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 98 (4): 262–272. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djj052 . ISSN   0027-8874. PMID   16478745.
  7. "Prognostic and predictive".
  8. Loi, S.; Michiels, S.; Salgado, R.; Sirtaine, N.; Jose, V.; Fumagalli, D.; Kellokumpu-Lehtinen, P. -L.; Bono, P.; Kataja, V.; Desmedt, C.; Piccart, M. J. (1 August 2014). "Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes are prognostic in triple negative breast cancer and predictive for trastuzumab benefit in early breast cancer: results from the FinHER trial". Annals of Oncology. 25 (8): 1544–1550. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdu112 . ISSN   0923-7534. PMID   24608200.
  9. "Award Winners Named for the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium | AACR | News Releases". American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. "Subscribe to The Australian | Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps" . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. "Self-described 'Forrest Gump of COVID' wins PM's science prize". ABC News. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  12. Department of Industry, Science (29 October 2021). "2021 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year". Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Retrieved 15 November 2021.