Research and Education

In order to realize the personalized medicine in breast cancer treatment, genomic, epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles of breast cancer are being analyzed. Furthermore, host reactions to breast cancers, including immune and inflammatory responses, are investigated using biomaterials from breast cancer patients. Therefore, a variety of translational researches as well as biomarker development are activated in this laboratory.
Currently, several types of new diagnostic technologies are under development in our laboratory, including photo-acoustic technologies for imaging of tumor vasculature and its function, imaging mass spectrometry technologies to identify next generation biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer, and microRNA profiling system and algorithm to predict treatment response of breast cancer. In parallel, studies to create a new approach for the prevention of breast cancer are being initiated according to a concept of life cycle care of life style.
Many innovative investigators are engaged in creating new ideas for understanding of breast cancer and the development of novel preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools for breast cancer patients.

Recent Publications

1. Keiju Sasaki, Shin Takahashi, Kota Ouchi, Hidekazu Shirota, Nobuaki Sato, Kouji Kaneko, Norikazu Masuda, Fumiyoshi Fujishima, Satoko Sato, Chikashi Ishioka. Dynamic predictive power of TP53 signatures in breast cancer prognosis: Pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy insights. Transl Oncol. 2025 Apr 16:56:102398. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2025.102398.
2. Shigenori E. Nagai, Masaya Hattori, Tetsuhiro Yoshinami, Hiroko Masuda, Takuho Okamura, Kenichi Watanabe, Takahiro Nakayama, Michiko Tsuneizumi, Daisuke Takabatake, Michiko Harao, Hiroshi Yoshino, Natsuko Mori, Hiroyuki Yasojima, Chiya Oshiro, Madoka Iwase, Miki Yamaguchi, Takafumi Sangai, Shinsuke Sasada, Takanori Ishida , Manabu Futamura, Yasuaki Muramatsu, Nobuyoshi Kosaka, Norikazu Masuda. Overall survival of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy in Japanese patients with HR+/HER2– advanced breast cancer in the frst‐or second‐line setting: a multicenter observational study (P‐BRIDGE study) Breast Cancer. 2025 Apr 5. doi: 10.1007/s12282-025-01689-4.
3. Toshinari Yamashita, Shigehira Saji, Toshimi Takano, Yoichi Naito, Akiyo Yoshimura, Masato Takahashi, Junji Tsurutani, Tsuguo Iwatani,Hiroshi Tada, Kei Koizumi, Hiroki Hasegawa, Yohei Uchida, Satoshi Morita, Norikazu Masuda Trastuzumab-Pertuzumab Plus Eribulin or Taxane as First-Line Chemotherapy for Human Epidermal Growth Factor 2–Positive Locally Advanced/Metastatic Breast Cancer: The Randomized Noninferiority Phase III EMERALD Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Apr 10;43(11):1302-1313. doi: 10.1200/JCO-24-01888.
4. Masahiro Kawashima, Takeshi Matsumoto, Takao Nishimura, Susumu Mashima, Atsushi Kobayashi, Eisho Kanemitsu, Hiromitsu Nagata, Toshihiro Tanaka, Yasuyuki Shimahara. Anthracycline-based hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy achieved 17 months of disease regression in a patient with breast cancer liver metastases resistant to multiple systemic chemotherapies. Int Canc Conf J 13, 153–157 (2024).
5. Yurina Maeshima, Tatsuki R. Kataoka, Alexis Vandenbon, Masahiro Hirata, Yasuhide Takeuchi, Yutaka Suzuki, Yukiko Fukui, Masahiro Kawashima, Masahiro Takada, Yumiko Ibi, Hironori Haga, Satoshi Morita, Masakazu Toi, Shinpei Kawaoka, Kosuke Kawaguchi, Intra-patient spatial comparison of non-metastatic and metastatic lymph nodes reveals the reduction of CD169+ macrophages within metastatic breast cancers. EBioMedicine. 2024 Sep:107:105271. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105271. Epub 2024 Aug 21.

Laboratory

Professor：Norikazu Masuda
Senior Lecturer：Masahiro Kawashima
Assistant Professor：Marina Kiso, Hanako Shimizu, Kei Ishii
Program-Specific Assistant Professor：Yukiko Fukui, Yurina Maeshima

TEL：+81-75-751-3660
FAX：+81-75-751-3616
E-mail： nyusen@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
URL： https://brca.kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp/