Research

Cancer research is one of our top priorities. At Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH), we run a centralised research section where we’re working to find new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.

Expanding our knowledge through research helps us to detect and diagnose cancer earlier on. It enables us to select patient treatments which are most effective, and by helping us to discover the causes of cancer, it allows us to predict and prevent an individual’s level of risk.

Some of our work

Our Labs and Research

In today’s era of translational cancer research, the ultimate aim is to make the results of our research into applicable measures for our patients. The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) research labs make up a self-sufficient suite, appointed with the latest in medical and research equipment. We have one main, two standard, and several auxiliary laboratories constructed in accordance with international bio-safety standards. To date, our labs have hosted numerous projects, ranging from ovarian and colorectal cancer to the role of HPV in the development of oesophageal cancer. Our research team is set with a core facility for clinicians and scientists to join forces in an effort to better understand and treat cancer in Pakistan.

Research in Triple Negative Breast Tumors

Our research division at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) has been researching Triple Negative Breast Tumours. These tumours occur without the presence of the three receptors that doctors use to diagnose breast cancer. When it comes to treatment, medicines commonly used in breast cancer which target these three receptors fail. Though alternative treatments may be developed in the near future, chemotherapy continues to be the only means of systemic therapy for patients with this kind of breast cancer. Preliminary work results from SKMCH’s research studies in Triple Negative Breast Tumors were presented at the 13th biennial meeting of the International Gynecological Cancer Society in Prague, Czech Republic.

Genetic and Non-Genetic Risk Factors

At Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH), ongoing research explores the contribution of genetic and non-genetic risk factors in the occurrence of early-onset and familial breast and ovarian cancer.

Pakistan exhibits the highest incidence rates for both these cancers in all of Asia.

To this end, SKMCH’s research division is working with two international collaborative research groups: the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA); and the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC). Our Hospital’s Pathology Department has also collaborated with the Basic Sciences Laboratory, to study the histopathological characteristics of hereditary breast tumours in Pakistan. This will allow our research division to gain a broader understanding of the origin of breast cancer and develop a more effective detection strategy in high-risk individuals.