̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - breast cancer

Study highlights increased risk of second cancers among breast cancer survivors

cjb250 — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 23:30:38 +0000

For the first time, the research has shown that this risk is higher in people living in areas of greater socioeconomic deprivation.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK. Around 56,000 people in the UK are diagnosed each year, the vast majority (over 99%) of whom are women. Improvements in earlier diagnosis and in treatments mean that five year survival rates have been increasing over time, reaching 87% by 2017 in England.

People who survive breast cancer are at risk of second primary cancer, but until now the exact risk has been unclear. Previously published research suggested that women and men who survive breast cancer are at a 24% and 27% greater risk of a non-breast second primary cancer than the wider population respectively. There have been also suggestions that second primary cancer risks differ by the age at breast cancer diagnosis.

To provide more accurate estimates, a team led by researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge analysed data from over 580,000 female and over 3,500 male breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1995 and 2019 using the National Cancer Registration Dataset. ̽��ֱ��results of their analysis are published today in Lancet Regional Health – Europe.

First author Isaac Allen from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge said: “It’s important for us to understand to what extent having one type of cancer puts you at risk of a second cancer at a different site. ̽��ֱ��female and male breast cancer survivors whose data we studied were at increased risk of a number of second cancers. Knowing this can help inform conversations with their care teams to look out for signs of potential new cancers.”

̽��ֱ��researchers found significantly increased risks of cancer in the contralateral (that is, unaffected) breast and for endometrium and prostate cancer in females and males, respectively. Females who survived breast cancer were at double the risk of contralateral breast cancer compared to the general population and at 87% greater risk of endometrial cancer, 58% greater risk of myeloid leukaemia and 25% greater risk of ovarian cancer.

Age of diagnosis was important, too – females diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50 were 86% more likely to develop a second primary cancer compared to the general population of the same age, whereas women diagnosed after age 50 were at a 17% increased risk. One potential explanation is that a larger number of younger breast cancer survivors may have inherited genetic alterations that increase risk for multiple cancers. For example, women with inherited changes to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are at increased risk of contralateral breast cancer, ovarian and pancreatic cancer.

Females from the most socioeconomically deprived backgrounds were at 35% greater risk of a second primary cancer compared to females from the least deprived backgrounds. These differences were primarily driven by non-breast cancer risks, particularly for lung, kidney, head and neck, bladder, oesophageal and stomach cancers. This may be because smoking, obesity, and alcohol consumption – established risk factors for these cancers – are more common among more deprived groups.

Allen, a PhD student at Clare Hall, added: “This is further evidence of the health inequalities that people from more deprived backgrounds experience. We need to fully understand why they are at greater risk of second cancers so that we can intervene and reduce this risk.”

Male breast cancer survivors were 55 times more likely than the general male population to develop contralateral breast cancer – though the researchers stress that an individual’s risk was still very low. For example, for every 100 men diagnosed with breast cancer at age 50 or over, about three developed contralateral breast cancer during a 25 year period. Male breast cancer survivors were also 58% more likely than the general male population to develop prostate cancer.

Professor Antonis Antoniou from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, the study’s senior author, said: “This is the largest study to date to look at the risk in breast cancer survivors of developing a second cancer. We were able to carry this out and calculate more accurate estimates because of the outstanding data sets available to researchers through the NHS.”

̽��ֱ��research was funded by Cancer Research UK with support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Cancer Research UK’s senior cancer intelligence manager, Katrina Brown, said: “This study shows us that the risk of second primary cancers is higher in people who have had breast cancer, and this can differ depending on someone’s socioeconomic background. But more research is needed to understand what is driving this difference and how to tackle these health inequalities.”

People who are concerned about their cancer risk should contact their GP for advice. If you or someone close to you have been affected by cancer and you’ve got questions, you can call Cancer Research UK nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday.

Reference
Allen, I, et al. Risks of second primary cancers among 584,965 female and male breast cancer survivors in England: a 25-year retrospective cohort study. Lancet Regional Health – Europe; 24 April 2024: DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.100903

Survivors of breast cancer are at significantly higher risk of developing second cancers, including endometrial and ovarian cancer for women and prostate cancer for men, according to new research studying data from almost 600,000 patients in England.

It’s important for us to understand to what extent having one type of cancer puts you at risk of a second cancer at a different site. Knowing this can help inform conversations with their care teams to look out for signs of potential new cancers

Isaac Allen

National Cancer Institute

Doctor standing near woman patient doing breast cancer scan

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Licence type:

Public Domain

Report highlights inequalities and hidden suffering among people living with breast cancer

cjb250 — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:31:36 +0000

Many people with breast cancer ‘systematically left behind’, say researchers in Lancet Commission led by Professor Charlotte Coles.

‘Exhausted’ immune cells in healthy women could be target for breast cancer prevention

jg533 — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:03:44 +0000

Everyone has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but mutations in these genes - which can be inherited - increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

̽��ֱ��study found that the immune cells in breast tissue of healthy women carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations show signs of malfunction known as ‘exhaustion’. This suggests that the immune cells can’t clear out damaged breast cells, which can eventually develop into breast cancer.

This is the first time that ‘exhausted’ immune cells have been reported in non-cancerous breast tissues at such scale - normally these cells are only found in late-stage tumours.

̽��ֱ��results raise the possibility of using existing immunotherapy drugs as early intervention to prevent breast cancer developing, in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

̽��ֱ��researchers have received a ‘Biology to Prevention Award’ from Cancer Research UK to trial this preventative approach in mice. If effective, this will pave the way to a pilot clinical trial in women carrying BRCA gene mutations.

“Our results suggest that in carriers of BRCA mutations, the immune system is failing to kill off damaged breast cells - which in turn seem to be working to keep these immune cells at bay,” said Professor Walid Khaled in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Pharmacology and Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, senior author of the report.

He added: “We’re very excited about this discovery, because it opens up potential for a preventative treatment other than surgery for carriers of BRCA breast cancer gene mutations.

“Drugs already exist that can overcome this block in immune cell function, but so far, they’ve only been approved for late-stage disease. No-one has really considered using them in a preventative way before.”

̽��ֱ��results are published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

Risk-reducing surgery, in which the breasts are removed, is offered to those at increased risk of breast cancer. This can be a difficult decision for young women to make and can have a significant effect on body image and sexual relationships.

“ ̽��ֱ��best way to prevent breast cancer is to really understand how it develops in the first place. Then we can identify these early changes and intervene,” said Khaled.

He added: “Late-stage breast cancer tends to be very unpredictable and hard to manage. As we make better and better drugs, the tumours just seem to find a way around it.”

Using samples of healthy breast tissue collected from 55 women across a range of ages, the researchers catalogued over 800,000 cells - including all the different types of breast cell.

̽��ֱ��resulting Human Breast Cell Atlas is now available as a resource for other researchers to use and add to. It contains huge amounts of information on other risk factors for breast cancer including Body Mass Index (BMI), menopausal status, contraceptive use and alcohol consumption.

“We've found that there are multiple breast cell types that change with pregnancy, and with age, and it’s the combination of these effects - and others - that drives the overall risk of breast cancer,” said Austin Reed, a PhD student in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Pharmacology and joint first author of the report.

He added: “As we collect more of this type of information from samples around the world, we can learn more about how breast cancer develops and the impact of different risk factors - with the aim of improving treatment.”

One of the biggest challenges in treating breast cancer is that it is not just one disease, but many. Many different genetic variations can lead to breast cancer, and genetic risk interacts with other risk factors in complicated ways.

For example, it is known that the likelihood of breast cancer increases with age, but this risk is greatly reduced by pregnancy early in life. And age-associated risk is greatly increased in carriers of the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2.

̽��ֱ��new study aimed to understand how some of these risk factors interact, by characterising the different cell types in the human breast under many different physiological states.

̽��ֱ��researchers used a technique called ‘single cell RNA-sequencing’ to characterise the many different breast cell types and states. Almost all cells in the body have the same set of genes, but only a subset of these are switched on in each cell – and these determine the cell’s identity and function. Single cell RNA-sequencing reveals which genes are switched on in individual cells.

“Breast cancer occurs around the world, but social inequalities mean not everyone has access to treatment. Prevention is the most cost-effective approach. It not only tackles inequality, which mostly affects low-income countries, but also improves disease outcome in high-income countries,” said Dr Sara Pensa, Senior Research Associate in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Pharmacology and joint first author of the study.

Breast tissue samples were provided by the Breast Cancer Now tissue bank.

̽��ֱ��research was primarily funded by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK.

Reference: Reed, A.D. et al: ‘A human breast cell atlas enables mapping of homeostatic cellular shifts in the adult breast.’ Nature Genetics, March 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01688-9

Researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have created the world’s largest catalogue of human breast cells, which has revealed early cell changes in healthy carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

We’re very excited about this discovery, because it opens up potential for a preventative treatment other than surgery for carriers of BRCA breast cancer gene mutations.

Walid Khaled

Angiola Harry on Unsplash

Woman holds pink breast cancer awareness ribbon. Credit angiola-harry-unsplash

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-Noncommerical

Cambridge ReseARch Trail

zs332 — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:34:06 +0000

A new augmented reality trail, launched as part of the Cambridge Festival, is showcasing the world leading research of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge in a new light.

International collaboration identifies new breast cancer susceptibility genes

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:00:18 +0000

̽��ֱ��study, published in Nature Genetics, was led by teams at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Université Laval, Quebec.

Current genetic tests for breast cancer only consider a few genes, such as BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2. However, these only explain a minority of the genetic risk, suggesting that more genes remain to be identified.

Researchers looked at genetic changes in all genes in 26,000 women with breast cancer and 217,000 women without breast cancer. These included women from eight countries in Europe and Asia.

Professor Douglas Easton, Director of the Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who co-led the study, said: "To our knowledge, this is the largest study of its kind. It was made possible through the use of data from multiple collaborators in many countries, as well as publicly available data from the UK Biobank.”

̽��ֱ��team found evidence for at least four new breast cancer risk genes, with suggestive evidence for many others. ̽��ֱ��team say identification of these new genes will contribute to our understanding of the genetic risk of breast cancer and help improve risk prediction by better identifying those women at higher risk of the disease.

̽��ֱ��findings will better inform approaches to breast screening, risk reduction and clinical management. ̽��ֱ��aim is to integrate this information into a comprehensive risk prediction tool currently used worldwide by health professionals.

"Improving genetic counselling for high-risk women will promote shared decision-making regarding risk reduction strategies, screening and determination of treatment options," said Professor Jacques Simard of Université Laval, co-lead of the study.

“Although most of the variants identified in these new genes are rare, the risks can be significant for women who carry them. For example, alterations in one of the new genes, MAP3K1, appear to give rise to a particularly high risk of breast cancer.”

Before this information can be used in a clinical setting, scientists need to validate the results in further datasets.

"We need additional data to determine more precisely the risks of cancer associated with variants in these genes, to study the characteristics of the tumours, and to understand how these genetic effects combine with other lifestyle factors affecting breast cancer risks," added Professor Easton.

̽��ֱ��discovery of these novel genes also provides crucial information on the biological mechanisms underlying cancer development, potentially opening the way to identifying new treatments.

̽��ֱ��study was funded by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ministère de l’Économie et de l'Innovation du Québec through Genome Québec, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, the European Union Horizon programme, the Wellcome Trust and the International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection.

Reference
Wilcox, N et al. Exome sequencing identifies breast cancer susceptibility genes and defines the contribution of coding variants to breast cancer risk. Nat Gen; 17 Aug 2023; DOI :10.1038/s41588-023-01466-z

Adapted from a press release by Université Laval

A large-scale international collaboration has identified new genes associated with breast cancer that could eventually be included in tests to identify women at increased risk of the disease.

To our knowledge, this is the largest study of its kind

Douglas Easton

Anna Tarazevich

Two women holding pink ribbons

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Licence type:

Public Domain

First UK proton beam therapy trial for breast cancer launches

cjb250 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 09:17:27 +0000

̽��ֱ��trial will compare proton beam therapy – which can target radiotherapy beams more precisely – with standard radiotherapy for patients who are at greater risk of long-term heart problems after radiotherapy treatment. It will help to determine whether proton beam therapy can help to deliver adequate doses of radiotherapy to breast tissue, while minimising off-target radiation delivered to the heart.

̽��ֱ��trial will enrol 192 people across a planned 22 sites in the UK. People allocated to receive proton beam therapy will be treated at either ̽��ֱ��Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester or ̽��ֱ�� College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with accommodation provided for those who are travelling far from home.

̽��ֱ��PARABLE trial is being led by researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and managed by the Cancer Research UK-funded Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at ̽��ֱ��Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). It is funded by a National Institute for Health and Care Research and Medical Research Council partnership. ̽��ֱ��NHS proton centres – UCLH and ̽��ֱ��Christie – also provided expert guidance on the trial protocol development.

Every year in the UK over 30,000 people with breast cancer receive radiotherapy following surgery as part of their treatment. Standard breast cancer radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. As well as lowering the risk of cancer coming back, radiotherapy can increase survival rates.

Standard breast cancer radiotherapy is very effective for the vast majority of people and the benefits far outweigh small side effects. However, there can be a very small risk of radiotherapy leading to heart problems much later in life (less than one per cent of people treated). ̽��ֱ��risk of heart problems later in life due to breast radiotherapy maybe be higher than one per cent for a very small group of people. This is usually because their breast tissue and the lymph nodes which require radiotherapy treatment are located close to the heart, and/or because they have an increased underlying risk of developing heart problems later in life.

Professor Charlotte Coles, Professor of Breast Cancer Clinical Oncology at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Consultant Oncologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Chief Investigator of the PARABLE trial, said: “Although only a very small group of people are affected by a higher risk of heart problems later in life, it can still be a serious issue. Most patients treated with radiotherapy have decades of healthy life ahead of them and we need to do everything we can to avoid possible future heart problems related to treatment.

“Standard breast radiotherapy is really effective for most people with very few side effects, but there is a small group of patients for whom proton beam therapy may be a better option.”

Proton beam therapy uses charged particles instead of X-rays to target tumours more precisely. Researchers hope it will allow doctors to deliver the required dose of radiotherapy where it’s needed, while minimising the dose of radiation delivered to the heart, and without increasing the risk of early side effects such as skin redness and changes in breast appearance.

̽��ֱ��average radiotherapy dose that the heart is likely to receive from the radiotherapy planning scan can be estimated and together with age and other medical history, this information is used to predict the potential small lifetime risk of heart problems.

Professor Judith Bliss, Director of the Cancer Research UK-funded Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at ̽��ֱ��Institute of Cancer Research, London, which is managing the PARABLE trial, said: “ ̽��ֱ��PARABLE trial will measure average dose of radiotherapy delivered to the heart to predict long-term heart damage. Using this early predictor will allow us to uncover the potential benefits of using proton beam therapy for long term heart health in years rather than decades.”

People who are predicted to have at least a two per cent or more potential lifetime risk of heart problems from radiotherapy will be invited to take part. Around 500 out of every 30,000 people who receive radiotherapy for breast cancer fall into this category. People who enter the trial will either receive standard radiotherapy or proton beam therapy.

̽��ֱ��trial will measure radiation dose delivered to the heart as an early predictor of possible heart problems, to avoid the need for lengthy follow up for many years before results are available.

People in the trial will also record their experiences using questionnaires so that researchers can assess side-effects including skin reactions, breast pain and swelling, and other symptoms which are particularly important for patients.

Proton beam therapy has been used in other countries to treat breast cancer, but numbers of participants in these trials are small and there have been no reported trials that directly compare proton beam therapy with standard radiotherapy.

̽��ֱ��researchers stress the importance of evaluating the benefits of proton beam therapy – which is expensive and only available in certain locations across the UK – thoroughly in a clinical trial.

Dr Anna Kirby, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Team Lead at ̽��ֱ��Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Radiotherapy Lead for the PARABLE trial, said: “We have already learnt a huge amount about how to optimise and standardise current breast cancer radiotherapy practices alongside optimising proton beam therapy approaches. We hope that the PARABLE trial will help us to further personalise radiotherapy treatments and ensure that people can access the radiotherapy approach that is best for them, regardless of where they live.

Adapted from a press release from ̽��ֱ��Institute of Cancer Research

Cambridge researchers are jointly leading the first UK trial to test the benefits of proton beam therapy for certain patients with breast cancer.

Standard breast radiotherapy is really effective for most people with very few side effects, but there is a small group of patients for whom proton beam therapy may be a better option

Charlotte Coles

FatCamera (Getty Images)

An Asian woman in her 60s embraces her mid-30s daughter who is battling cancer - stock photo

Kim Jones: Patient story

Kim Jones, 44, a school caterer from Ely, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2022 after noticing some thickening of the skin and painful twinges in her left breast. Her GP referred her for urgent scans at the breast clinic, and after having mammograms, ultrasounds and biopsies, the diagnosis was confirmed.

Kim was then referred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where she had chemotherapy followed by a mastectomy and lymph node removal. Following acceptance to the PARABLE trial, Kim's proton beam therapy commenced at ̽��ֱ��Christie on 24 October.

Kim said: "I was told I might be suitable to participate in the PARABLE trial as it would potentially benefit patients with a high risk of long-term heart complications. As I already had an issue with my heart, the trial seemed like a great idea.

"When I was told that I'd been accepted onto the trial, I felt very lucky to have the opportunity to get this treatment. Clinical trials are incredibly important as they are the best way to evaluate which treatments work the best."

" ̽��ֱ��proton beam therapy centre at ̽��ֱ��Christie is bright and spacious and feels very relaxing. My experience of being treated at ̽��ֱ��Christie so far has been superb. ̽��ֱ��staff are wonderful and seem to have thought of everything. Their care is second to none, and I feel completely safe in their hands."

Following the proton beam therapy, Kim will have further chemotherapy and hormone therapy at Addenbrooke's.

Kim is married to Mark, and they have two boys, Dylan, age 14, and Elwood, age 11. She enjoys walking, reading, live music and spending time with her family.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Technique for tracking resistant cancer cells could lead to new treatments for relapsing breast cancer patients

cjb250 — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 14:50:39 +0000

Tumours are complex entities made up of many types of cells, including cancer cells and normal cells. But even within a single tumour there are a diverse range of cancer cells – and this is one reason why standard therapies fail.

When a tumour is treated with anti-cancer drugs, cancer cells that are susceptible to the drug die, the tumour shrinks and the therapy appears to be successful. But in reality, a small number of cancer cells in the tumour may be able to survive the treatment and regrow, often more persistently, causing a relapse.

In a study published in eLife, scientists from Professor Greg Hannon’s IMAXT lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have developed a new technique for identifying the different types of cells in a tumour. Their method – developed in mouse tumours – allows them to track the cells during treatment, seeing which types of cell die and which survive.

̽��ֱ��IMAXT team was previously awarded £20 million by Cancer Grand Challenges, funded by Cancer Research UK.

Dr Kirsty Sawicka from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute said: “Tumours are incredibly complex, made up of many different types of tumour cells that have acquired genetic mutations as they evolve and replicate – and some of these cells are able to evade standard cancer treatments. Until now, it hasn’t been possible to work out which these cells are and what makes them special, but our technique means that we can now do just that.”

̽��ֱ��team used viruses to tag different types of breast cancer cells with a unique genetic ‘barcode’. They then formed tumours from these cells in mice and treated them with the same drugs used to treat patients with breast cancer.

By scanning the barcodes using recently developed single cell sequencing technologies – which look for those genes that are turned on or off in the cell – they were able to identify the different types of cancer cells, how many of those cells there are and what their characteristics are – and which types of cancer cells are not killed effectively by standard treatments.

̽��ֱ��team noticed that the cells that evade chemotherapy are those that have a greater reliance on asparagine, an amino acid that cells use to protect themselves from damage. By then administering L-asparaginase – a drug currently used to treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which breaks down asparagine – they were able to specifically target and kill these tumour cells.

Dr Ian Cannell from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute said: “Offering some kind of ‘combination therapy’ that adds asparaginase to the standard treatment could be a way of further shrinking tumours in breast cancer patients and reducing their risk of relapse.

“Although we see evidence that these evasive tumour cells are increased in patients after chemotherapy, so far, we’ve only shown that we can target them in mice, so there’s still a long way to go before it leads to a treatment for patients. Before we can do that we need to find the best way of administering the drugs – would we give the drugs together, for example, or offer the standard treatment and then asparaginase.”

David Scott, Director of Cancer Grand Challenges, Cancer Research UK, said: “Incredible innovations like these are exactly why Cancer Grand Challenges was created. Ambitious ideas from world class scientists – like tracking how individual cells respond to cancer treatments – are what will give us the much needed insights to bring us the more effective cancer treatments of tomorrow and make real differences to patients.”

Reference
Wild, SA Cannell, IG et al. Clonal transcriptomics identifies mechanisms of chemoresistance and empowers rational design of combination therapies. eLife; 16 Dec 2022; DOI: 10.7554/eLife.80981

Cambridge scientists have managed to identify and kill those breast cancer cells that evade standard treatments in a study in mice. ̽��ֱ��approach is a step towards the development of new treatments to prevent relapse in patients.

Tumours are incredibly complex, made up of many different types of tumour cells – and some of these cells are able to evade standard cancer treatments

Kirsty Sawicka

Anne Weston - Francis Crick Institute

Breast cancer cells

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-Noncommerical

̽��ֱ��doctor turned detective investigating the imprints of cancer

cg605 — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 12:56:04 +0000

Self-confessed ‘nerd’ Serena Nik-Zainal went from hospital wards to the laboratory on a mission to provide patients with the best possible treatment for their illnesses. Ten years later she is at the forefront of genomic research, creating tools for clinicians which are transforming patient care.