Professor Janet Brown is developing a blood test to predict how likely someone’s breast cancer is to spread to the bone. She hopes this could change how people with breast cancer are treated and followed up on.
In this section
What's the challenge?
When breast cancer spreads around the body, it’s called secondary breast cancer. And although it can be treated, it currently can’t be cured.
Most breast cancers don’t come back after initial treatment. But they occasionally do, and one of the most common places for breast cancer to spread to is the bone. We currently have no way of knowing which people with primary breast cancer will later develop tumours in the bone and which people won’t. If we can develop better diagnostic techniques, we can improve follow-up care and potentially provide people at risk with improved treatment strategies.
Secondary breast cancer is currently incurable. And when secondary tumours form in the bone, they can cause debilitating symptoms and reduce people’s quality of life. This can occur months or years after treatment, and there’s currently no way to know who this will affect. My team’s working on creating a blood test to predict the risk of future spread to the bone, so that we can better support those at higher risk, while sparing those at lower risk from unnecessary treatments
Professor Janet Brown
Lead Researcher
What’s the science behind this project?
In previous work, Janet's team identified 16 proteins made by breast cancer cells which are prepared to spread around the body. These proteins are present in the bloodstream of people in early stages of the disease, before the cancer has spread. So, they could be used to predict people at risk of developing secondary breast cancer before it happens.
Now the team are measuring these protein levels in samples taken from people with primary breast cancer who've taken part in 2 clinical trials. In these trials, people were monitored for 5-10 years, and scientists recorded who developed secondary breast cancer in this time. Janet’s team is using a special technique called Parallel Reaction Monitoring, which can measure these protein levels in blood samples in a cheaper and quicker way.
The researchers will then use advanced computer technology to see which combination of these 16 proteins best predicts cancer spreading to bone. They hope this leads to a final panel of 3-5 proteins which can then be used for a future test, called a biomarker panel.
Finally, Janet hopes to create a simple blood test that can measure this selection of proteins quickly and easily. If successful, this blood test could be used in the future to assess the risk of someone's breast cancer spreading to the bone.
What difference will this project make?
If successful, a blood test like this could revolutionise how people with breast cancer are monitored. The better we understand who’s at greater risk of developing secondary breast cancer, the more we can tailor their treatment plan.
Healthcare professionals could better manage those at higher risk of secondary breast cancer, while sparing very low risk patients from unnecessary treatments and their side effects.
How many people could this project help?
Around 55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. Overall, this project has the potential to help thousands of people with all types of breast cancer.
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