Learning from skeletal muscles to develop new treatments for cancer

Project Details

Patients with cancer frequently succumb to complications arising from cachexia, a condition characterised by debilitating loss of functional muscle mass, and adipose tissue. This research program is examining the mechanisms involved in the development of cachexia in the hopes of helping to develop new therapeutic strategies. Another significant factor in cancer morbidity and mortality is the spread of tumour cells to other sites distant from the tissue of origin. However, the colonisation of metastatic cancers within muscle is remarkably infrequent, and the mechanisms underlying these discrepancies between muscle and other tissues remain unclear.

This research is examining why skeletal muscles are comparatively resistant to the propagation of metastatic cancers.

Researchers

A/Prof Paul Gregorevic, Head of Laboratory

Dr Rachel Thomson, Senior Research Assistant

Students

Alastair Saunders, PhD

Research Opportunities

This research project is available to Honours students to join as part of their thesis.
Please contact the Research Group Leader to discuss your options.

Research Publications

View A/Professor Gregorevic's latest PubMed publications listing here

Research Group

Gregorevic laboratory: Muscle Research and Therapeutics



Faculty Research Themes

Cancer, Neuroscience

School Research Themes

Cancer in Biomedicine, Biomedical Neuroscience, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Cell Signalling, Therapeutics & Translation



Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact the research group leader.

Department / Centre

Anatomy and Physiology

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