Dr Nicole Yap to join Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute

Melbourne-based specialist breast surgeon Dr Nicole Yap will join the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute’s (FECRI) breast cancer research group as a Collaborating Clinician in metropolitan Melbourne. Through the collaboration, Yap will bring her patients’ perspectives to the work while introducing the Ballarat facility’s research to a wider audience.

“We are fortunate to have Dr Yap’s support of our breast cancer group,” said Professor George Kannourakis, Director of FECRI.

“We are grateful for her interest in our work here in Ballarat and look forward to working with her.”

The founding director of the Australian Breast Care Centre (ABCC), Yap is known for treating both cancer and cosmetic outcomes during the same oncoplastic surgery. She is involved with multiple associations, including as deputy chair of RACS, AMA councillor, President of the Chinese Medical Association of Victoria and Vice President of the Medico-Legal Society of Victoria. She also sits on the board of Pink Hope.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, with one million cases diagnosed globally each year. Triple-negative breast cancers account for 10–20% of breast cancers and have been reported to be more aggressive and associated with poorer survival than other subtypes of breast cancers.

Notably, the triple-negative subtype of breast cancer is encountered more often in pregnancy. The breast cancer researchers at the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute are focused on this aggressive subtype of breast cancer.

In the course of their research, the group have reported on the behaviour and function of a pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPPA) that is found at high concentrations in aggressive triple-negative breast cancers. High PAPPA concentrations are generally detected in the blood of pregnant women; however, in breast cancer patients, researchers found that an abnormal overexpression of PAPPA negatively affects survival rates and increases the risk of the cancer recurring.

The team’s findings revealed that PAPPA plays an important role in regulating key cell motility networks in breast cancers.

“As the first metropolitan-based breast surgeon to be accepted as a collaborating clinician, I am honoured to officially support this important research and I encourage other breast cancer surgeons to follow in my footsteps to help bring more patient perspectives and expose the research to a wider audience,” Yap said.

“I have chosen to donate my resources to FECRI based on their current studies which align with my charity Australian Breast Care Centre. Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive breast cancers and tends to be associated with women under the age of 50 and certain genetic mutations,” she added.

Image caption: Dr Nicole Yap, Specialist Breast Surgeon, and Professor George Kannourakis, Director of the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute.