In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) is organizing a number of community outreach initiatives to shed light on the importance of breast cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment. Two scientists at HBKU’s Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Dr. Manale Karam and Dr. Julie Decock, will be holding a community talk on “Breast Cancer: From Discovery to Biology and Treatment” on Thursday, October 20th at 1 PM at the HBKU Student Center in Education City. The University will also set-up informational booths at the HBKU Student Center on October 20th, the Gulf Mall on October 21st and 22nd, and Qatar University on October 24th, where members of the community can learn more about the prevalence of breast cancer in Qatar and the region, as well as measures women can take to reduce risk of the disease.
Dr. Decock, a researcher investigating breast cancer immunotherapy at QBRI, commented: “This awareness-raising campaign helps people better understand how diet and environment contribute to the development and progression of cancer, and helps make the public more aware of the benefits of screening and early detection. This is very important because in the earlier stages, breast cancer can be relatively easily treated, but this becomes very difficult towards the end.”
Breast cancer is the second highest cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide and among Qatari women, it is the most common cancer with projections of a 60% increase in newly diagnosed cases over the next 6 years.
QBRI’s Cancer Center focuses on the disease and seeks to identify new targets for cancer treatment through genomics, proteomics, molecular and cellular biology, integrated with cancer immunobiology and pharmacology.
Dr Karam, whose research at QBRI aims at developing new cancer therapies by using pharmacological and cellular strategies, added: “At the booths and our lectures, we explain the major discoveries in cancer, their history, cancer biology and therapeutics. We will also speak about the tools being used in the research and how the researchers of the past have contributed to the treatments of today.”
To learn more about the work of HBKU’s QBRI, please visit: http://www.qbri.org.qa/