In this new work funded by £50,000 from Breast Cancer Research Action Group - a linked charity of Leeds Hospitals Charity, researchers are able to reactivate proteins in breast cancer cells to stop their resistance to chemotherapy.

"Breast cancer patients at high risk of recurrence are offered cytotoxic chemotherapy as part of their treatment. Unfortunately, this therapy is not always successful, and patients often still face recurrence, usually terminal. 

Therefore, there is an urgent need to make cytotoxic chemotherapy work better. We have recently discovered that some breast cancers resist chemotherapy by reducing their levels of two particular proteins: ITGA7 and SEMA6D. This project will reactivate these proteins in breast cancer cells in order to stop their resistance to chemotherapy, investigate which breast cancer types this therapy might apply to and work out how best to use this new therapeutic strategy as an enhancement to chemotherapy. The eventual aim is to use this as a combination therapy with chemotherapy to improve outcomes for patients."

Dr Thomas Hughes, Associate Professor of Cancer Biology, University of Leeds

Breast Cancer Research Action Group

Breast Cancer Research Action Group was formed in 1994 by ex-breast cancer patients and their supporters. We fundraise for the charity Leeds Hospitals Charity specifically to support breast cancer research in Leeds.

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READ MORE: Breast Cancer Research Action Group

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