“Today’s Research is Tomorrow’s Cures”
How Dr. Katherine Cook’s work in breast cancer research honors the women of her family
For Katherine Cook, Ph.D., 2024 V Foundation for Cancer Research grantee and breast cancer researcher at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, her work is personal.
“The current statistic is about one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime,” Dr. Cook said. “That’s an incredibly staggering statistic. But when you think about all the faces and all the individuals behind that number, it becomes even more personal.”
Dr. Cook and her sister trying on their grandmother’s wigs
A Career Inspired by Family
Dr. Cook has seen breast cancer impact some of the most cherished and influential people in her life.
“I was 10 when my grandmother passed from breast cancer,” Dr. Cook said. “I remember going to her house and playing with her wigs, with no concept of why she even needed wigs. Then, one day, she was just gone.”
Six months later, Dr. Cook’s aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a double mastectomy and radiation, and today she is a 30-year breast cancer thriver.
About a year after her aunt’s cancer journey, her mom found a lump and underwent a prophylactic double mastectomy. In a four-year period, three women in Dr. Cook’s life were affected by the disease.
“It really kind of served as a good reminder why we need breast cancer research. It even motivated me to pursue a career in it, and I’ve spent the past 19 years doing breast cancer research.”
In addition to three family members, Dr. Cook was in grad school when she had her first lumpectomy. It was benign, but a reminder of the importance of research.
“I feel strongly that today’s research is tomorrow’s cures,” Dr. Cook said. “The therapies that are available today, none of those were available when my grandmother had breast cancer 30 years ago. Thinking about how far we’ve come in the past 30 years, it makes the point that what we’re doing today could create new cures for tomorrow.”
Dr. Cook’s Innovative Breast Cancer Research
Dr. Cook’s team at the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center studies the impact of diet and obesity on breast cancer risk and therapeutic outcomes. In particular, the team looks at how the gut microbiome, the totality of microorganisms that live within your gut, influences these outcomes.
“It’s estimated that there are about 39 trillion microbial cells that live on or within the human body. When you think about how many cells make up the average human body, there’s actually only 43% of us [that] is human. The rest of us is microbial. So, it’s really not surprising that these small bugs can influence the development of disease. And even the progression of disease.”
With the funding from the V Foundation, Dr. Cook opened a clinical trial to investigate whether or not the gut microbiome influences the response to immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer patients. They are surveying biological signs from their patients – after immunotherapy but before they start chemotherapy – to see if there is a correlation in gut microbiome and the response to therapy.
“We hope to see if we can make meaningful contributions and understand how gut microbiomes may be affecting therapy efficacy.”
Dr. Cook, her sister, and her aunt celebrating her aunts birthday
Accelerating Victory, Giving Time
The work of Dr. Cook and other all-star cancer researchers funded by the V Foundation relentlessly moves the needle for patients today and in the future.
“We have so many fantastic researchers out there developing such innovative ideas of how we can develop therapies for future breast cancer patients,” Dr. Cook said. “Cancer research is the driver behind discoveries and how the field advances. We are reliant on research to make groundbreaking discoveries to help the patients of tomorrow.”
This hope of a better tomorrow would not be possible without passionate and faithful donors. Donors make breakthroughs possible – leading to new discoveries, treatment options, and clinical trials, like Dr. Cook’s.
“I couldn’t be more thankful to the V donors because their contributions have really allowed us to open this clinical trial here at Wake Forest. We are very excited to see where the science takes us and in the future what could come of that. So thank you very much, and hopefully we can make meaningful advances with our research projects.”
As someone whose family was personally affected by breast cancer, Dr. Cook’s definition of achieving Victory Over Cancer® was simple: more time.
“Our comprehensive cancer center director here at Wake Forest has a saying that cancer is a thief and it steals time, and I couldn’t agree more. Victory Over Cancer® would be more time with your family and friends, more time with your loved ones.”
