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For years, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has distinguished itself as a research leader in cancers that affect women. Whether improving tests for earlier disease detection, identifying cancer risk factors or investigating new therapies, Hutchinson Center researchers continue to achieve breakthroughs that advance our understanding of breast, cervical and ovarian cancers.
Breast cancer
Our researchers work toward a common mission-reducing breast-cancer incidence and deaths-through a variety of scientific disciplines. Their areas of study include investigating genetic susceptibility to the disease, determining the role of hormones in cancer risk, developing new techniques for treatment, examining the influence of lifestyle choices, and pinpointing molecular-level mechanisms in tumor growth and cancer progression. Some recent accomplishments include findings that red and white wine are equal offenders when it comes to elevating breast-cancer risk; women who suffer from migraines may face a significantly lower risk of breast cancer; and women who take combined hormone-replacement therapy for three years or more face a fourfold increased risk of developing various forms of lobular breast cancer.
Learn more about our breast cancer research »
Cervical cancer
Our researchers have played a pivotal role over the years in the study of human papillomavirus, the primary cause of cervical cancer. Work at the Center formed the foundation for important vaccines in use today that have been found to prevent certain cervical cancer-causing strains of HPV. Other ongoing research in this area tackles important public-health questions, with a focus on building health-education programs to boost cancer-screening rates among certain ethnic groups, such as Hispanic and Vietnamese American women, who face a far higher cervical-cancer risk.
Learn more about our cervical cancer research »
Ovarian cancer
Key Center research is helping to transform the historic perception of ovarian cancer as a "silent killer"-a name coined by physicians who believed a patient's symptoms would only become visible when the cancer was already difficult to treat. In recent years, our researchers have discovered a set of four symptoms that are much more likely to occur in women with ovarian cancer than women in the general population. A 2008 Center study found that combining a patient's reports of these symptoms with the standard CA125 ovarian-cancer blood test may boost early-detection rates by 20 percent. Our researchers continue to seek ways to enhance the reliability and accuracy of ovarian-cancer blood tests, with the goals of detecting the disease earlier and, ultimately, predicting a woman's risk of developing the disease.
Learn more about our ovarian cancer research »
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