Dr. Kelly K. Hunt, M.D., FACS

Breast Cancer

Prevention and Treatment Group

1)  Mission of Dr. Hunt's research as the Director of the

            Surgical Breast Research Program:

To identify novel treatment targets and novel treatment strategies for treatment of cancer.

                                          

2)         Objectives of the laboratory:

I           Determine differences underlying the biology of normal and tumor cells

II          Focus on altered cell cycle regulation between normal and tumor cells

III        In vitro and in vivo models of tumor development and progression

IV        Prognostic and predictive markers.

 

3)         Approach:  Lab bench to patient bedside (i.e. translational research)

 

4)         Specific Projects:

a)                              LMW forms of cyclin E

-Mechanisms of deregulation of the LMW cyclin E in breast cancer (Delk)

-Role of LMW cyclin E in mediating centrosome deregulation (Yarmand)

-Mouse model and therapy for LMW cyclin E associated breast cancer (Akli).

-Clinical evaluation of cyclin E LMW (Wingate)

 

b)                              Protection of normal cells against cytotoxicity

-Protection of normal cells against the toxic affects of chemotherapy (Mull)

-Induction of AKT mediated survival signal by elafin (Caruso)

 

c)                              Combinatorial strategies

-Autophagy:  a novel mechanism of cell cycle mediated cell death (Lambert)

- Harnessing the biology of simvastatin to optimize radiation therapy (Efuet)

 

d)                              ER Regulation in Breast Cancer

-          Cell cycle regulatory roles of estrogen receptor alpha in breast cancer (Kamrani)

 

e)                              Micro-environment of breast cancer development and progression

-Effect of cell cycle deregulation by LMW cyclin E and p53 in mammary acinar morphogenesis (Duong)

 

f)                               Elastase regulation

-Her2 and cyclin E:  a novel interaction in breast cancer (Mittendorf)

-The role of PKC iota in aggressive epithelial ovarian cancer through generation of the LMW cyclin E (Nanos-Webb).

 

g)                              Elafin regulation and modulation

-The regulation and function of elafin in breast cancer as a novel tumor suppressor gene (Wang and Caruso)

 

h)                              E2F and hTERT

-E2F1 and telomere length correlate with survival in breast cancer (Fearmonti)

 

At M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, our mission is simple – to eliminate cancer. Achieving that goal begins with integrated programs in cancer treatment, clinical trials, education programs and cancer prevention.

To us, people are more than just their cancer symptoms. Compassion – along with innovative cancer treatment, cutting-edge cancer research, comprehensive education and research-based prevention of both common and rare cancers – has earned the gratitude of countless adult and pediatric cancer patients and their families. M. D. Anderson: life-saving, life-changing care, since 1941.

Dr. Hunt has been awarded for her excellent research by many including:

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

and

Susan G. Komen For the Cure

Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center
at Baylor College of Medicine

The Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine, located on the 13th floor of Baylor Clinic, brings together a multidisciplinary team of breast care specialists in one location, integrated with an internationally recognized research program.

Our mission is to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and breast disease. Visit our Patient Services section to learn more about our breast care specialists and our comprehensive range of breast care services.

 

Smith Breast Center Cornerstone of NCI-Designated Cancer Center

The Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center is a major component of the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine, which brings together research, patient care, education and outreach activities from the College and its affiliated hospitals. The Duncan Cancer Center has been named a designated cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, a significant milestone that opens the doors for additional funding to combat cancer. Read more about the Duncan Cancer Center NCI designation.

 

Leading the Way to Personalized Medicine

Our vision for the future is personalized medicine – using patients’ own genetic makeup to identify their potential for breast cancer, prevent its onset, more effectively diagnose and treat the disease when it does occur, and one day, provide a cure. See how personalized medicine is poised to improve human health in our Best Minds, Best Medicine Personalized Health Video.

We’re bringing our vision to life through the continued pursuit of genomic research, the rapid translation of new discoveries into improved patient care, and a new Baylor Clinic and Hospital.

 

Our Doctors

Our physicians are nationally and internationally recognized experts in all areas breast health and disease. Their expertise is based on years of intense focused research, and treatment of thousands of patients diagnosed with breast cancer. They are known for bringing innovative treatment approaches from the laboratory to clinical trials for improved patient outcomes. As principal investigators and collaborators on National Cancer Institute funded grants and national clinical trials, they contribute to the most up to date information on breast cancer.

 

C. Kent Osborne, M.D. is professor of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology and director of the Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Clinically, Dr. Osborne is primarily interested in new treatment strategies, including the development and testing of new hormonal treatments for breast cancer and the development of gene therapy for treatment and prevention. He earned his medical degree at the University of Missouri Medical School in Columbia. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, and his fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. Dr. Osborne is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, with a subspecialty of medical oncology.

About Us

The Center opened officially in the fall of 1999. Organizationally, the Center is divided into two sections: the Breast Care Center and the Breast Research Program.

 

The Breast Care Center offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary care and includes four sections: breast imaging; breast cancer risk assessment, genetic testing and counseling, and prevention; an evaluation and diagnostic clinic; and a breast cancer clinic. Clinical research is an integral component of the Center, which offers state of the art nationwide and local-regional clinical trials in all aspects of breast health. Training of physicians, fellows, medical students, and other healthcare providers is also an integral function of the Breast Care Center.

 

The Breast Research Program carries out both basic and translational breast disease and breast cancer research. By studying various aspects of the basic biology of mammary gland development, breast disease, and breast cancer, researchers can then translate that information into improvements in patient care. The research group of physicians and scientists is internationally recognized for its efforts in these areas. Currently this group is one of only six recipients nationally of the NIH Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) Grant in Breast Cancer, which highlights the accomplishments and productivity of the program.

 

The Smith Breast Center is an independent academic unit at Baylor College of Medicine, functioning much like a department. It has its own budget and its own geographic clinical and laboratory space. The Breast Care Center occupies 21,000 square feet of clinic space on the 13th floor of the Baylor Clinic, while the Breast Research Program has 21,000 square feet of laboratory space in the Alkek Research Building. The Center's annual budget is over 12 million dollars, and it directly employs more than 120 people.

 

The faculty are appointed in a variety of different departments including Medicine, Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Psychiatry, Radiology, and Human Genetics. Faculty in these and other crucial clinical and basic science departments function as associate members of the Smith Breast Center and interact with the Smith Breast Center on a daily basis. Generous resources are available to recruit 5-7 new faculty members over the next several years. Funds are also available for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and major equipment purchase, so that rapid growth of both the clinical and research programs is expected in the next few years.