March Science Cafe: Not your mother's mammogram

Nancy DeMore, M.D., is a doctor and scientist who knows what she wants and finds a way to make it happen. These days, she wants a better way to screen for breast cancer, and may be less than a decade away from making that a reality through her research at the Medical University of South Carolina. She’ll discuss her latest findings March 22 at 5:30 p.m. in a Science Cafe, open to the public, at Halo Restaurant by MUSC.

People at the event will hear from a world-class researcher with a history of succeeding in the toughest academic and medical environments. 

A perfect example: When DeMore was a 19-year-old college student, she became fascinated with tumor angiogenesis, which involves the way cancerous tumors use blood vessels to nourish themselves. So DeMore wrote to Judah Folkman, a medical scientist whose research on angiogenesis was so impressive that he was considered a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize, and told him she wanted to work in his lab.

“He called me at 6 a.m. on a Saturday when I was in college,” DeMore said. “He said come on down.”

She visited Folkman’s lab at Harvard Medical School and was hooked. The day after she earned her medical degree, she followed up and was accepted as a surgical research fellow in Folkman’s program, where she worked with her hero. “He was the most inspirational person ever. He was absolutely brilliant.”

DeMore knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps, learning more about how cancer grows. She focused on surgery, because she loves it, and breast cancer, because of her interest in women’s health and the fact that it would allow her to control her schedule. “I wanted to make sure I could dedicate time to research.”

After 13 years as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MUSC convinced DeMore to become a professor of surgery and the BMW endowed chair in cancer research in Charleston.

Today, DeMore’s work focuses on a new imaging technique to screen for breast cancer. She said molecularly targeted imaging has the potential to give more accurate results than current screening methods and may be available in seven to eight years. “We would continue to start screening women at age 40, but we could stop doing unnecessary biopsies.”

DeMore’s research, which she’s conducting with Paul Dayton of the Dayton Lab at the University of North Carolina, focuses on spotting the protein SFRP2. It’s found in blood vessels at a much higher rate in tumor tissue than normal tissue. 

DeMore created an antibody, which is a biologic agent that’s attracted to SFRP2, and combined it with an ultrasound contrast agent that Dayton’s team came up with. The mixture, when injected into blood vessel tumors, highlights the SFRP2, showing that cancer may be present. Their research is being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

While her work is complex, DeMore is comfortable talking in plain language as well, which she’ll do at the Science Cafe. She’ll discuss when to start breast cancer screening, what the risk factors for breast cancer are and what women who spot a breast mass should do. 

“I’m a strong advocate for women’s health and to me it’s just a privilege to be able to help women with their health care,” DeMore said.

She’s encouraging anyone who wants to know more about breast cancer to join her for her informative but informal Science Cafe talk, called “Not Your Mother’s Mammogram.” 

---

MUSC's Science Cafe is a series of presentations offering entertaining talks on scientific subjects in a fun, non-technical environment. This month's event is on March 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Halo Restaurant, 170 Ashley Avenue in Charleston.

To receive the Science Cafe newsletter, fill out this online form.