Integrated tumour-microenvironment biomarkers
for improved targeting of breast cancer therapy
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OverviewThis project aims to develop enabling tools for better stratification of breast cancer patients by integrating information from the tumor and the surrounding stromal tissu. This will allow the development of personalized therapies relevant to specific tumor subtypes. |
The genetic heterogeneity of breast
cancer tumours has long been recognized.
Tumour-intrinsic features and subtypes
are associated with differential outcomes
and are used to target specific treatments.
Recently, it has become increasingly evident
that the interactions between the tumour
and its surrounding stromal environment
are also significant predictors of disease
progression and response to treatment.
Dr. Park’s team has shown that subclassification
of the stromal environment
can predict disease outcome and that
combining stromal information withtumour-intrinsic data increases prognostic
accuracy. The optimization of stromal
signatures to classify tumour samples
is critical for breast cancer research
since there are currently no accurate
and standardized tests for this purpose.
The goal of this project is to generate and
validate different tumour/microenvironment
profiles. The identification of new tissue
and blood biomarkers which integrate
the intrinsic and stromales characteristics
of the tumour will allow a better stratification
of patients with breast cancer and a better
prediction of the response to treatments.
Impact on the drug discovery process
- Stratify breast tumours by combining tumour-intrinsic and stromal features to identify specific groups of patients who respond to therapies in clinical trials
- Improve selection of the most appropriate
treatments based on integrated
tumour-microenvironment classification
- Identify stromal features as targets for the development of new therapies
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