Tumour biology: Preventing secondary spread

What's different about our breast cancer research?

• Sugars - Research groups worldwide use blood and urine samples to try and identify which chemicals act as markers for breast cancer and how it behaves. They look for these markers in proteins or DNA, where as we focus on sugars. Our research has identified complex sugars produced by the body which coat breast cancer cells and are associated with their ability to travel and our work could lead us to create a blood test to screen for these destructive cells, and ultimately to a vaccine against breast cancer.
• Diet and Lifestyle Study - Our national Diet & Lifestyle Study of breast cancer survivors involves over 3,000 women in 56 hospitals across the UK, and is one of the largest clinical trials of its kind in the world with the aim of providing information on the link between diet, lifestyle and improved breast cancer survival.
• GlycoStation™ - Against Breast Cancer biochemists are the only research team in Europe using this state-of-the-art technology which makes possible the extremely sensitive analysis of glycan patterns. A huge advantage is that minute amounts of our prized clinical samples can produce a wealth of data.

More about Glycobiology

Glycobiology is the study of the structure, formation and biology of the glycans that attach to the protein in a cell. These 'glycoproteins' are spread over the cell's surface and play a major role in biological events like fertilisation and infection.

Abnormal changes in glycans are a common feature of a broad variety of cancers, including breast cancer. Our scientists are investigating the part they play in its spread and how new cancer detection methods and treatments can be developed based on their findings.

So what progress have we made?

Preliminary data suggests that GlycoStation™ technology can distinguish blood samples from patients whose breast cancer has spread from those where it hasn't. Within the next few years we hope to have a blood test that will be able to screen for breast cancer cells. Their degree of aggression will indicate whether a breast tumour is likely to spread to other areas.

Against Breast Cancer's research group has already discovered unique differences in the aggressiveness of laboratory-grown cancer cells. The next step is to confirm whether there is a consistent link between these variations and their degree of aggression.

Although glycobiology is a relatively young branch of biochemistry our scientists are already producing new and extremely exciting data. They have exceptional expertise in this fast-developing research field and all have several years' experience in cancer glycobiology. We also have an extensive bank of clinical samples that would be the envy of many cancer research group.