Luciane R. Cavalli, PhD
Molecular Cytogeneticist
Dr. Cavalli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Her main research interest is the study of genomic instability in breast cancer, through the identification and characterization of the genetic alterations involved in breast tumorigenesis. Currently, she has been focusing on one major line of research: the identification of molecular markers associated with sentinel lymph node metastasis, the first node in the axilla to metastasize. The primary objective is to characterize genetic alterations that can be associated with lymph node metastasis in patients with breast cancer, with the overall goal to develop a panel of molecular markers that can be used clinically to predict the development of lymph node metastasis in these tumors. Several candidate genes are being tested in my research projects for this panel, including the BP1 homeobox gene. This gene maps to 17q21, a hot spot location in breast cancer, and has been found to be amplified and overexpressed in these tumors. The methodologies that are being used in my studies include the following: Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), array-CGH, Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH), Methylation and Loss of Heterozygosity analysis (LOH).