Overview
Background
Sunil Lakhani is Executive Director Research and Senior Staff Specialist, Pathology Queensland, and Head of the Molecular Breast Group at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR) at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Prior to his move to Australia in 2004, he was Professor of Breast Pathology at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK
His current research interests include lobular carcinoma and its variants, normal and stem cells, tumours with a basal phenotype, familial breast cancer and biology and therapeutic development for brain and distant metastases.
He was series editor for the 4th Edition WHO Tumour Classification Books and volume editor for the 4th Ed WHO Classification of Tumours of the Breast (2012). He is currently Standing member of the Board for the 5th Ed WHO Tumour Classification Books. He is also on the editorial board of a number of pathology and experimental research journals.
Availability
- Professor Sunil Lakhani is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours), University College London
- Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and Medical Science, University College London
- Doctoral Diploma of Medicine, University College London
- Royal College of Pathologists, Royal College of Pathologists
Research impacts
The recognition that ADH is biologically very similar to DCIS has led to a policy of excising all ADH lesions diagnosed on core biopsies at breast screening assessment
The demonstration that LCIS is a clonal neoplastic proliferation with the same molecular phenotype as invasive lobular carcinoma, and the subsequent dissemination of this knowledge through publication (Lakhani SR 2003, Lancet) and conference presentations has also changed the management of LCIS. It is accepted that it is a non-obligate precursor, rather than a hyperplastic lesion.
The recognition of the pleomorphic variant of lobular is now changing the way this proliferation is managed. Like other lobular lesions, it is multifocal/bilateral but a more aggressive variant. There is considerable ongoing discussion on the international stage regarding management and my work has played a role in this policy change.
We have also shown that columnar cell lesions, which are increasingly being diagnosed in the screening program, are clonal lesions with a progressive relationship to low grade DCIS (Simpson PT et al 2005 Am J Surg Pathol). We have shown that morphological atypia is associated with molecular profiles similar to that of DCIS and hence patients with atypical lesions on core biopsy are now subjected to further excision. It has been shown subsequently that many of these patients have worse pathology on further resection.
My expertise, in diagnostic and molecular biology of pre-invasive breast disease has also been acknowledged in being appointed Head of Breast Screen Pathology, North Brisbane as well as being a member of the Breast Screen Quality (‘Q’) group in Queensland.
My work as part of the BCLC has demonstrated that BRCA1-related breast cancers are high grade, highly proliferative tumours and occurred in young women. Hence there was an immediate impact on breast screening protocols. I was invited to many meetings to discuss the pathology in relation to the following: (i) should mammography be used in young women and how effective would it be in dense breasts? (ii) should another modality such as MRI be considered? (iii) irrespective of the modality, should the screening interval be shortened to reduce the risk that patients would present with interval cancers?
All these issues have been addressed subsequent to the publications – in particular, I was member of the steering group that published the experience of using MRI in young women at high risk of breast cancer (Leach et al 2005 MARIBS The Lancet). MRI is now used in many countries to screen high-risk women. The screening interval has been reduced to 1 year as many patients did present with interval cancers as predicted by the pathology.
In extending the original work on morphology, my group has also demonstrated that a large proportion of BRCA1associated cancers are ER negative and ‘basal-like’. This led us to propose that this phenotype could be used to improve the risk estimation and carrier probability of women seen in family cancer clinics (Lakhani et al 2005 Clin Can Res).
We have now published a number of papers supporting the use of pathology data to improve risk estimation as well as improving the likelihood of unclassified variants (UVs) being pathogenic. This work has been done with previous BCLC collaborators (Prof Doug Easton) as well as with Georgia Chenevix-Trench and Amanda Spurdle at QIMR (Chenevix-Trench et al 2006 Can Res, Lovelock et al 2007 Br Can Res, Spurdle et al 2008 JCO, Spurdle et al 2009 Hum Mut, Mavaddat et al 2010 Br Can Res) This approach is now being incorporated into the genetics clinics.
Works
Search Professor Sunil Lakhani’s works on UQ eSpace
2004
Journal Article
Collagenous spherulosis in an adenomyoepithelioma of the breast
Reis-Filho, J. S., Fulford, L. G., Crebassa, B., Carpentier, S. and Lakhani, S. R. (2004). Collagenous spherulosis in an adenomyoepithelioma of the breast. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 57 (1), 83-86. doi: 10.1136/jcp.57.1.83
2004
Book Chapter
Lobular carcinoma in situ: Biology and pathology
Fulford, Laura G., Reis-Filho, Jorge S. and Lakhani, Sunni R. (2004). Lobular carcinoma in situ: Biology and pathology. Diseases of the breast. (pp. 489-495) edited by Jay R. Harris, Marc E. Lippman, Monica Morrow and C. Kent Osborne. Philadelphia, U.S.A.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
2004
Journal Article
Grade of recurrent in situ and invasive carcinoma following treatment of pure ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
Millis, R. R., Pinder, S. E., Ryder, K., Howitt, R. and Lakhani, S. R. (2004). Grade of recurrent in situ and invasive carcinoma following treatment of pure ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. British Journal of Cancer, 90 (8), 1538-1542. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6601704
2004
Journal Article
Cytokeratin 5/6 in normal human breast: lack of evidence for a stem cell phenotype
Clarke, CL, Sandle, J, Parry, SC, Reis, JS, O'Hare, MJ and Lakhani, SR (2004). Cytokeratin 5/6 in normal human breast: lack of evidence for a stem cell phenotype. Journal of Pathology, 204 (2), 147-152. doi: 10.1002/path.1647
2003
Journal Article
Pathologic quiz case: A 93-year-old woman with an enlarged and tender left breast
Reis-Filho, Jorge S., Fulford, Laura G., Freeman, Alex and Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). Pathologic quiz case: A 93-year-old woman with an enlarged and tender left breast. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 127 (12), 1626-1628.
2003
Journal Article
The diagnosis and management of pre-invasive breast disease: Editor's reply
Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). The diagnosis and management of pre-invasive breast disease: Editor's reply. Breast Cancer Research, 6 (1), E4.1-E4.2. doi: 10.1186/bcr741
2003
Journal Article
The morphology of breast tumors in BRCA1/2 carriers
Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). The morphology of breast tumors in BRCA1/2 carriers. Pathology Case Reviews, 8 (5), 240-244.
2003
Journal Article
A 62-year-old woman with a 4.5-cm nodule in the right breast
Reis-Filho, Jorge S., Fulford, Laura G., Lakhani, Sunil R. and Schmitt, Fernando C. (2003). A 62-year-old woman with a 4.5-cm nodule in the right breast. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 127 (9), e396-e398.
2003
Journal Article
Progesterone receptor-positive eruptive syringoma associated with diabetes
Timpanidis, Penelope C., Lakhani, Sunil R. and Groves, Richard W. (2003). Progesterone receptor-positive eruptive syringoma associated with diabetes. Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology, 48 (5, Supp. 1), S103-S104. doi: 10.1067/mjd.2003.159
2003
Journal Article
Malignant adenomyoepithelioma of the breast metastasizing to the liver [Letter to the Editor]
Jones, Chris, Tooze, Reuben and Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). Malignant adenomyoepithelioma of the breast metastasizing to the liver [Letter to the Editor]. Virchows Archiv, 442 (5), 504-506. doi: 10.1007/s00428-003-0806-2
2003
Journal Article
In-situ lobular neoplasia: time for an awakening
Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). In-situ lobular neoplasia: time for an awakening. The Lancet, 361 (9352), 96-96. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12240-4
2003
Journal Article
The diagnosis and management of pre-invasive breast disease — current challenges, future hopes
Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). The diagnosis and management of pre-invasive breast disease — current challenges, future hopes. Breast Cancer Research, 5 (5), 248-249. doi: 10.1186/bcr641
2003
Journal Article
Pathology of atypical lobular hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ
Simpson, Peter T., Gale, Theodora, Fulford, Laura G., Reis-Filho, Jorge S. and Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). Pathology of atypical lobular hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ. Breast Cancer Research, 5 (5), 258-262. doi: 10.1186/bcr624
2003
Journal Article
X-inactivation patch size in human female tissue confounds the assessment of tumor clonality
Novelli, M, Cossu, A, Oukrif, D, Quaglia, A, Lakhani, S, Poulsom, R, Sasieni, P, Carta, P, Contini, M, Pasca, A, Palmieri, G, Bodmer, W, Tanda, F and Wright, N (2003). X-inactivation patch size in human female tissue confounds the assessment of tumor clonality. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America, 100 (6), 3311-3314. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0437825100
2003
Journal Article
Salivary gland-like tumours of the breast: surgical and molecular pathology
Pia-Foschini, M., Reis, J. S., Eusebi, V. and Lakhani, S. R. (2003). Salivary gland-like tumours of the breast: surgical and molecular pathology. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 56 (7), 497-506. doi: 10.1136/jcp.56.7.497
2003
Journal Article
BCL-6 is expressed in breast cancer and prevents mammary epithelial differentiation
Logarajah, S, Hunter, P, Kraman, M, Steele, D, Lakhani, S, Bobrow, L, Venkitaraman, A and Wagner, S (2003). BCL-6 is expressed in breast cancer and prevents mammary epithelial differentiation. Oncogene, 22 (36), 5572-5578. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1206689
2003
Journal Article
cDNA microarray analysis of genes associated with ERBB2 (HER2/neu) overexpression in human mammary luminal epithelial cells
Mackay, A., Jones, C., Dexter, T., Silva, R. L. A., Bulmer, K., Jones, A., Simpson, P., Harris, R. A., Jat, P. S., Neville, A. M., Reis, L. F. L., Lakhani, S. R. and O'Hare, M. J. (2003). cDNA microarray analysis of genes associated with ERBB2 (HER2/neu) overexpression in human mammary luminal epithelial cells. Oncogene, 22 (17), 2680-2688. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1206349
2003
Journal Article
Can the stroma provide the clue to the cellular basis for mammographic density?
Warren, R and Lakhani, SR (2003). Can the stroma provide the clue to the cellular basis for mammographic density?. Breast Cancer Research, 5 (5), 225-227. doi: 10.1186/bcr642
2003
Journal Article
Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of bilateral hyperplasia of usual type of the breast
Jones, C, Merrett, S, Thomas, VA, Barker, TH and Lakhani, SR (2003). Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of bilateral hyperplasia of usual type of the breast. Journal of Pathology, 199 (2), 152-156. doi: 10.1002/path.1280
2003
Journal Article
Genetic alterations in pre-invasive lesions
Reis-Filho, Jorge S. and Lakhani, Sunil R. (2003). Genetic alterations in pre-invasive lesions. Breast Cancer Research, 5 (6) 313, 313-319. doi: 10.1186/bcr650
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Sunil Lakhani is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Master Philosophy
E-cadherin, ROS1 and synthetic lethality in ILC
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
-
Master Philosophy
Application of molecular genetics in Translational Breast Cancer Research
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
Master Philosophy
Applications of Molecular Genetics in Translational Breast Cancer Research
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Circulating biomarkers in invasive lobular breast carcinoma
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson, Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating therapeutic vulnerabilities in breast cancer.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson, Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
-
Doctor Philosophy
Studies on the utility of Endobronchial Ultrasound Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS TBNA) samples in novel investigations of lung cancer genomics, and immune responses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Studies on the utility of Endobronchial Ultrasound Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS TBNA) samples in novel investigations of lung cancer genomics, and immune
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Studies on the utility of Endobronchial Ultrasound Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS TBNA) samples in novel investigations of lung cancer genomics, and immune responses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson
Completed supervision
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Identification of new prognostic biomarker for triple negative breast cancer
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jodi Saunus, Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Heregulin/HER3 signalling increases invasive behaviour of HER2-positive breast cancer cells
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jodi Saunus
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Clinical-Pathological and Molecular Analysis to Understand Breast Cancer Progression
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Development of theranostic nanomedicines for breast cancer brain metastases
Joint Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jodi Saunus
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Detailed Characterisation of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma
Joint Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jodi Saunus, Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Studies on the utility of Endobronchial Ultrasound Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS TBNA) samples in novel investigations of lung cancer genomics, and immune responses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Identifying and characterising targetable proteins in breast cancer brain metastasis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Investigation of epigenetic influences on DNA methylation in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Melissa Brown, Dr Jodi Saunus
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Genomic and transcriptomic biomarkers of prognosis in invasive lobular breast cancer.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Intratumour heterogeneity in the development and progression of breast cancer
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Associate Professor Peter Simpson
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
A Search For Novel Cancer Susceptibility Genes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Melissa Brown, Associate Professor Peter Simpson
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Sunil Lakhani directly for media enquiries about:
- Brain metastasis
- Breast cancer
- Breast cancer - family history
- Cancer - breast
- Genetics - breast cancer
- Myoepithelial cells
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