Over 680,000 women die of breast cancer annually worldwide. Once the disease has spread to different sites in the body it is challenging to treat. Targeted therapies that can travel through the circulation and specifically target the cancer while sparing healthy tissue are urgently needed.  This must be based on a more thorough understanding of the factors driving the disease. 

It is well known that cancer cells cannot operate alone but recruit a range of cell types to the site of disease. This supports creation of a network of blood vessels that deliver nutrients, and structural supports that create an environment supporting cancer growth. The tumour also communicates with other sites in the body, by releasing signalling factors into the bloodstream. This stimulates changes at other sites, preparing the tissue in advance for the arrival of cancer cells. 

We have developed 3D dynamic models of breast cancer that will allow us to decipher how these cells communicate to support spread of disease. The majority of breast cancers spread to the lymph node first and so our initial model focuses on understanding communication between the tumour and lymph node, with multiple cells types included to model the patient scenario. When we understand these pathways, we can target them to reduce disease spread. We can also hijack these signals to enable delivery of an anti-tumour message directly to tumour tissue, for targeted treatment of patients with advanced disease.