Skip to main content ( press enter )

Latest News

 Stay up-to-date on the latest cancer research, fundraising news, and general news from Peter Mac. 

General News

Helping women across the breast cancer trajectory

4 min read 20 October 2025

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we are pleased to highlight the work of Peter Mac researcher Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips, which focuses on improving prevention and treatment for breast cancer.

Kelly Anne Phillips Headshots 2 croppedProfessor Kelly-Anne Phillips is leading a range of lifesaving breast cancer research initiatives.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women, affecting one in seven women. Many of these cases can be prevented, and for women who do get breast cancer, treatments can have unwanted side effects such as premature menopause and infertility. Personalised breast cancer prevention and care has enormous potential to address this, but more research is needed.

Prof Phillips, a medical oncologist and leading researcher at Peter Mac, is on a mission to improve the landscape of breast cancer in Australia. One of her key research initiatives seeks to transform how breast cancer risk is assessed and managed across the Australian population. There are many different risk factors for breast cancer – genetic, physiological, and environmental – which vary from person to person. Personalised screening and prevention approaches are essential to help women manage their individual cancer risk. This includes preventive medications for women at increased risk.

“About 1 in every 5 women is at increased risk for breast cancer. So far, we have given women resources to help them identify and manage their own risk, such as the iPrevent tool and the Peter Mac Preventing Cancer with Medications Telehealth Service,” says Prof Phillips.

“Looking ahead, our research will look at how we can ensure equity of access to these resources, so that no woman is left behind. “

Alongside her important prevention work, Prof Phillips is also investigating how clinical trials can be better designed to ensure that women and clinicians have key information about how certain treatments could affect the ovaries. By arming women and clinicians with this knowledge, they can make more informed decisions about which treatment they receive. This would help many women to avoid the undesirable long-term effects of some treatments. Says Prof Phillips:

“Although cancer clinical trials collect very detailed information about the side-effects of new treatments, they have historically overlooked the effect of treatments on fertility and female hormones. We’ve led research that has made collecting this vital information in cancer trials become more routine.

“Next, we are planning to use stored blood from completed trials to assess markers of fertility so we can better understand the impact of cancer treatments that are already in routine use.”

Ultimately, Prof Phillips’ research aims to turn the rising tide of women diagnosed with breast cancer, while allowing women who are diagnosed with breast cancer a better chance of survival and quality of life once they finish treatment.

Thank you to all Peter Mac Foundation supporters. Your generosity changes the lives of all people affected by cancer, including people diagnosed with breast cancer.

@Follow us on Instagram (@SupportPeterMac)

We are delighted to share with you the new Peter Mac Foundation’s strategy!  Every day, people affected by cancer face some of the toughest moments of their lives. Support from our incredible community helps make world-leading research, innovative treatments and compassionate care possible.  Our new strategy sets forward how your generosity will continue to make a real difference for patients and families, today and into the future. By working closely with Peter Mac, we’re ensuring your support drives the breakthroughs that matter most.  Together, we’re helping shape the future of cancer care and research – and creating hope where it’s needed most. Thank you for being part of this journey.  To read our new strategy, head to the link in bio.
This World Cancer Day 2026, we are United by Unique. We often hear from our incredible community of Peter Mac supporters about their personal journeys with cancer. And every story we hear reminds us that no two cancer journeys are the same. These stories show us why research into personalised cancer care is so vital. Cancer doesn’t affect people in one way, and the best treatment recognises and responds to each person’s uniqueness. That’s why Peter Mac’s researchers are developing therapies shaped by each person’s needs, keeping people at the heart of all we do. Today, we recognise all Peter Mac supporters and the many different experiences and motivations that unite them. Thank you for helping advance cancer treatment and care shaped around each individual.
What if we could see exactly how cancer behaves once it reaches the bone? New research can help us map what happens next and develop better treatments for advanced cancer. When cancer spreads to the bone, it can cause serious complications and become incurable. This is particularly common in hormone-driven cancers like breast and prostate cancer. Interestingly, although many cancer cells can enter the bone, only a small number will aggressively spread. This process, often taking months or years, suggests the bone marrow environment plays a key role in keeping cancer cells dormant or triggering ‘bone metastases’. But bone tissue is extremely difficult to study, making it hard for researchers to understand how this spread occurs. Because of this, there are currently no effective treatments for bone metastases. Dr Joan So was recently awarded a Peter Mac Foundation grant to help overcome this challenge. With grant funding, Dr So will use samples from breast cancer patients who have suffered bone metastases to study how cancer cells interact with the surrounding cell types in the bone marrow. Using cutting edge technology to see which genes are active in individual cells and how these cells behave in bone tissue, Dr So will generate a detailed “Google Map” of breast cancer that’s moved to the bone. This will help to identify which cells and molecular pathways influence the switch between dormant and growing cancer. The potential insights from Dr So’s work may open a new world of research opportunities and reveal new approaches for treating cancer that has spread to the bone. Thank you for supporting work that provides hope to people facing advanced cancer.
As another year draws to a close, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation thanks our amazing supporters for your outstanding generosity this year. In 2025, your support has allowed lifesaving cancer research at Peter Mac to grow and thrive. Whether it was donating, leaving a gift in will, volunteering, running a marathon, rallying the community or sharing your story – you have all played a vital role in shaping a brighter for people affected by cancer. On behalf of Peter Mac researchers, clinicians and all people affected by cancer: thank you sincerely for your amazing support in 2025. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2026.
“Big thanks to everyone who’s donated to Peter Mac research this Christmas. Your support means we can make greater discoveries to help cancer patients all over the world.” – A message from Associate Professor Ben Tran, Medical Oncologist at Peter Mac. Read more about Ben's work here: foundation.petermac.org/ben_christmas
Finding a ‘peek behind the curtain’ for CAR T-cell therapies may be the answer to new ways of treating solid cancer tumours. CAR T-cell therapy has been a game-changer in treating blood cancers. Patient immune cells are modified to recognise cancer cells and attack them. Unfortunately, it has not been as successful in treating solid tumours. One potential reason is that not enough of the immune cells travel to the tumour to be effective. There is currently no method for locating and tracking these cells in real-time, making it hard to understand why CAR T-cell therapy is largely ineffective at treating solid tumours. With the support of a Peter Mac Foundation Grant, Dr Rebecca Abbott is exploring if a molecule called a ‘tracer’ can be used to watch CAR T-cell therapy in action. This could potentially be a powerful tool in providing insights on why CAR T-cell therapy often doesn’t work in solid tumours, and how we can design CAR T-cells which are more effective. Dr Abbott’s research can help to change the course for CAR T-cell therapy and expand treatment options across more cancer types. Thank you for supporting groundbreaking research that helps people with all cancers.
Back to top