Triple Negative Breast Cancer Research

My aunt was diagnosed with Cancer when I was in 5th grade. I was very close to her, and it impacted me deeply. My interest in the field of Cancer research grew when I attended a summer residential program in the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016, where they taught us about “Unlocking the Genetic Code” this interest was further solidified when I studied “Oncology to the Rescue- The Fight for Life” at the University of Chicago in 2018. I started reading books, research papers and literary reviews.

I published a research paper on Cancer in the High School Science Journal with the research question: How can we accelerate the identification of biomarker glycoprotein NMB for the early detection of triple-negative breast cancer? In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, the lack of hormone receptors, including estrogen and progesterone receptors, on breast cells renders it particularly difficult to treat with hormone or HER2 therapy. Given TNBC’s rapid course of progression, there also tends to be a short window for timely intervention. Currently, screening and detection methods rely heavily on mammographies, ultrasounds, and MRIs.

These forms of testing often result in false negatives or fail to detect a cancer that’s present, making them a suboptimal form of testing. Glycoprotein NMB may be a solution to this issue. To write this research paper, I compiled data from clinical trials to create my own conclusion. I learned how biomarkers work and studied how glycoprotein NMB can be used to detect breast cancer at an early stage.
I look forward to applying these learnings and research when I become an Oncologist.