# mTOR pathway in breast cancer subtypes by race: A molecular pathological study

> **NIH NIH K07** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2020 · $136,474

## Abstract

Summary
My career goal is to become an independent cancer epidemiologist using molecular approaches, including
molecular pathology, to understand cancer etiology in the overall population and among different racial and
ethnic sub-populations. While my doctoral research focused on nutritional factors in relation to lung, prostate,
and colorectal cancers, upon arrival to Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), I became aware of the many
complexities and unanswered questions in breast cancer research, particularly among African-American (AA)
women, the population affected most by unfavorable breast cancer subtypes, i.e., estrogen receptor negative
(ER–), triple-negative, and basal-like tumors. With a growing understanding of breast cancer subtypes and its
importance in assessing risk factors and outcomes, I became motivated to learn more about pathology and
studying characteristics at the tumor level. However, it soon became obvious that to succeed in this area, I
needed more knowledge and experience in pathology and the molecular methods used in assessing subtypes
and molecular markers in tumors. Therefore, through this K07 mechanism, I will develop the required
expertise needed in molecular pathological epidemiology, including laboratory experience in pathology, and
further train in breast cancer etiology. Among breast cancer risk factors, obesity and central adiposity are
associated with breast cancer risk among AA women, and these associations may differ between tumor
subtypes. However, the underlying mechanisms of the associations are largely unclear. Positive energy
imbalance, a cause of obesity, can activate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of the
rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, which is important in regulation of cell growth and proliferation and has been
implicated in breast cancer development. To better understand the role of the mTOR pathway in the
association between obesity and breast cancer subtypes, I will conduct a molecular pathological epidemiology
study leveraging tumor tissue and data from 1,400 AA and 433 European-American (EA) women with breast
cancer in the Women’s Circle of Health Study (WCHS), currently supported by R01 CA185623. I aim to
examine differences in mTOR pathway activities between ER+ and ER- breast tumors and between intrinsic
subtypes, which include luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-
overexpressing, and basal-like tumors, among AA women (Aim 1). The study will also assess the association
of mTOR pathway activities with key components of obesity (general obesity, central adiposity, body
composition, and weight gain) among AA women (Aim 2), and compare the associations of mTOR pathway
activities with breast cancer subtypes, as well as with obesity, between AA and EA women (Exploratory Aim).
The expectation of this research is to provide a better understanding of the extent to which obesity components
are associated with mTOR pathway activities; whether the associa...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9952323
- **Project number:** 5K07CA201334-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Ting-Yuan Cheng
- **Activity code:** K07 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $136,474
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-01-13 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9952323

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9952323, mTOR pathway in breast cancer subtypes by race: A molecular pathological study (5K07CA201334-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9952323. Licensed CC0.

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