- Two Breast Cancer Now research teams, one of which is led by scientists at the University of Sheffield, will receive £500,000 each to fund work into understanding why some breast cancer cells become dormant and what reawakens them many years later
- Both projects have the potential to bring hope to the 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK
- An estimated 61,000 people are living with incurable secondary breast cancer in the UK
Researchers working to understand why some breast cancers come back years later and form incurable secondary tumours, have received a £1 million funding boost.
Two Breast Cancer Now research teams, one of which is led by scientists at the University of Sheffield, will receive £500,000 each from the Patricia Swannell appeal to fund work into understanding why some breast cancer cells become dormant and what reawakens them many years later.
While most breast cancers don't come back after treatment, breast cancer cells can remain dormant in some people who have been successfully treated for primary breast cancer.
These remaining cells can go into a sleep state called 'dormancy' and remain undetectable in the body for many years.
These cells are inactive and undetectable until they reawaken, and this can happen many years - sometimes decades - after an initial diagnosis.
Once the cells wake up and begin to grow and circulate in the bloodstream, they can develop tumours in other organs. When breast cancer cells develop in other parts of the body it is called secondary (or metastatic) breast cancer and although treatable, it can't be cured.
An estimated 61,000 people are living with incurable secondary breast cancer in the UK.
Professor Penelope Ottewell's research team at the University of Sheffield will use the funding for their research to determine whether a new gene therapy-based approach could stop dormant breast cancer cells from waking up.
The team previously found that a protein called IL-1β is made by breast cancer cells that spread to the bone, but not by those that don't. By inhibiting IL-1β they prevented dormant cells from waking up and growing in the bone.
In the body IL-1β is naturally switched off by a second protein called IL-1a and the researchers want to find out whether enabling bone cells to make IL-1Ra can prevent cancer growth at this site. They will also seek to find out which bone cells should be targeted to make this protein.
Since bone can act as a "reservoir" for dormant cells, preventing them from awakening could also reduce recurrence in organs like the lungs, liver, and brain.
Professor Penelope Ottewell, from the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health, said: "Our project focuses on creating a gene therapy to keep dormant breast cancer cells in the bone from waking up and spreading.
"By targeting a specific pathway, we aim to prevent cancer from coming back. This funding is enabling us to carry out vital research that tackles the problem of breast cancer returning long after the initial diagnosis, offering hope for better long-term survival and quality of life."
Meanwhile, Dr Frances Turrell and her team at the University of Manchester, will be using their £500,000 funding, to investigate the role of a type of immune cell called macrophages in reawakening dormant breast cancer cells in the lung.
Both projects have the potential to bring hope to the 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK.
Dr Simon Vincent, Director of Research, Support and Influencing at Breast Cancer Now, said: "Thanks to incredible progress that's been made in the diagnosis and treatment of primary breast cancer, more people are recovering from the disease and living longer than ever. While this is brilliant news, we cannot afford to ignore that some breast cancers recur years later, and more research to understand why is vital.
"Thanks to this incredibly generous funding from the supporters of the Patricia Swannell appeal, we're embarking on research that will help us to start to understand why breast cancer cells can remain dormant and what triggers them to reawaken and start to actively grow and spread many years later.
"Our hope is that the findings from this research will help ensure people who have been treated for breast cancer can live happy healthy lives without fear of the disease coming back."
The Patricia Swannell appeal was set up in 2022 to fund critical work in raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of secondary breast cancer, supporting healthcare professionals with education and training; and developing better testing, diagnosis and treatment through funding research tackling the challenge of dormancy.
Patricia Swannell was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in 2007 and after a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy went on to celebrate 5 years all clear. She continued medication for a further nine years.
In 2019, Patricia began to experience pain in her hips and joints and in 2021 was eventually diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her bones, liver, and abdomen. She passed away in 2023.
Patricia devoted the last 18 months of her life to driving change for people affected by secondary breast cancer and fundraised over £1 million for Breast Cancer Now. To date, the fund has raised over £1.4m.
Robert Swannell said: "When Patricia and I embarked on this mission we were astonished to find that so little was known about the science of dormancy and late recurrence in secondary breast cancer; and yet this disease, which is currently incurable, kills thousands of women in the UK each year.
"In raising the research funds, Patricia and I knew that this was not going to be a quick result, but we hoped to make positive steps up a long ladder to understanding better this disease and act as a catalyst and pathfinder for yet more research at greater scale, leading to earlier detection, better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
"It is great to see the funds now allocated and the work started. Patricia would be so delighted that a seed has been firmly planted."
