Wear It Pink Day 2024: Spotlight on Breast Cancer Research at the Department of Oncology

Friday 18 October 2024 is Wear It Pink Day! Run by Breast Cancer Now, the UK’s largest breast cancer charity, the campaign raises money to fund life-saving breast cancer research and provide essential services to those affected. Through these combined efforts, the charity is committed to the goal that ‘by 2050, everyone who develops breast cancer will live’.

Researchers at the Department of Oncology play a vital role in achieving this goal, conducting ground-breaking projects to answer some of the most important questions in cancer research. These projects are focused on improving cancer prevention and early diagnosis, optimising the quality of life of patients, and unlocking novel insights into cancer mechanisms to fuel the development of new and improved treatments.

In recognition of Wear It Pink Day, scientists researching breast cancer at the Department of Oncology are sharing insights into their projects and what makes them so important.

Investigating changing oxygen levels in breast cancer

Funded by Breast Cancer Now, Prof. Ester Hammond and her research group at the Department of Oncology are currently studying how changes in tumour oxygen levels, known as cyclic hypoxia, drive aggressive growth and treatment resistance. Cyclic hypoxia is often seen in triple-negative breast cancer, a subtype of cancer that is known to be aggressive and difficult to treat. Understanding the ways in which changes in oxygen levels allow cancer cells to grow faster and resist chemotherapy will give insights into potential treatment strategies, as well as helping to identify the patients likely to have a more aggressive disease.

Chumin Zhou, PhD, discusses her involvement in the project and what it means to her.

Chumin Zhou, PhD, Postdoctoral ResearcherWhat's your name and role? 

My name is Chumin and I am an oncology postdoctoral researcher in Ester Hammond's  group and my project is funded by Breast Cancer Now.

 What do you work on?

My research is focused on studying the role of the APOBEC3b protein in hypoxic (low oxygen level) breast cancer.

 What makes this work so important? 

Hypoxia is well known for causing cancer resistance in chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Additionally, APOBEC is the second largest source of mutation in various cancers, after aging. However, the biological mechanisms underlying the involvement of APOBEC in tumourigenesis is unclear. This project aims to shed light on the function of APOBEC in cancer development, leading to potential treatment strategies for breast cancer patients. 

What do you enjoy about your work?

I am passionate and motivated by this translational medicine project because its goal is finding a solution to cure triple-negative breast cancer, which the most aggressive breast cancer subtype. I am proud to be an oncologist and it's a pleasure that all my hard work can contribute to any kind of support to make patients' lives easier. 

New imaging tools to 'see' oxygen deficiency in tumours

Hypoxia levels are not always constant, but can vary over time. Studies have shown that tumours with varying hypoxia levels are even more aggressive and treatment resistant, compared to when levels are stable. Being able to visualize the level and variability of hypoxia would help to identify genes involved in this process, which could act as markers of how aggressive a tumour is and thus, how it should be treated.

Lina Hacker, PhD, Junior Research Fellow, is researching new imaging tools to measure the variation of hypoxia in different cancer types and stages.

Lina Hacker, PhD, Junior Research Fellow

What's your name and role?

My name is Lina  and I am a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Oncology.

 What do you work on?

I am working on new imaging methods to help us detect breast cancer earlier and and gain deeper insights into its underlying biology. Specifically, I focus on detecting and understanding low oxygen levels, which are a major cause of therapy resistance and tumour progression.

What makes this work so important? 

Early detection and a better understanding of the disease can lead to more effective treatments and improved patient outcomes, potentially saving lives.

What do you enjoy about your work?
I love working on innovative solutions that could make a real difference in cancer care, and the challenge of solving complex problems keeps me motivated every day.

Understanding how breast cancer cells adapt to hypoxia

When deprived of oxygen, most cells quickly begin to die. However, cancer cells have developed the ability to thrive in low-oxygen environments. These conditions drive cancer cells to activate specific biological pathways that support their survival and growth, where healthy cells cannot. Understanding how breast cancer cells adapt to hypoxia is crucial for identifying new therapeutic targets.

Anjali Arora, PhD, explores these adaptive mechanisms in her work, using advanced cancer cell models to study which pathways are key to survival in hypoxic conditions.

Anjali Arora, PhD, Postdoctoral ResearcherWhat's your name and role?

My name is Anjali and I am a postdoctoral researcher. I have worked in the Department of Oncology at the University of Oxford for the past three years and recently joined the Oxford Ludwig Institute within the Nuffield Department of Medicine.

What you are working on?

My research focuses on understanding how breast cancer cells adapt to low oxygen (hypoxic) conditions and how this knowledge can be used to identify new therapeutic targets. As tumour cells grow rapidly and form large masses, they often create a hypoxic core due to limited oxygen supply. Under these conditions, cancer cells rely on specific biological processes and signalling pathways to sustain their growth and survival. Notably, the cellular response to hypoxia varies depending on the severity and duration of oxygen deprivation. I am currently employing multi-omics approaches to uncover these critical pathways to gain deeper insights into the mechanisms at play.

What makes this work so important? 

Recognizing the factors that help cancer cells adapt to hypoxia is crucial, as targeting these vulnerabilities could lead to new treatment options. This approach is especially important for specific subtypes of breast cancer, like triple-negative breast cancer, which are often highly hypoxic and have limited therapeutic choices.

What do you enjoy about your work?

I enjoy contributing to the development of next-generation cancer cell models in the lab. These models incorporate essential components of tumour biology, such as hypoxia and interactions with immune cells, which have been absent in traditional cancer cell models. They serve as valuable tools to replicate the complexity of the original tumour, offering the potential to uncover new insights and enhance the relevance of our research to clinical applications.

The ground-breaking research being conducted by these dedicated scientists is pushing the boundaries of our understanding of breast cancer. By uncovering the mechanisms that allow cancer cells to thrive in low-oxygen conditions, researchers like Dr Zhou, Dr Hacker, and Dr Arora are opening new avenues for treatment strategies. Their work offers hope for more effective therapies, especially for patients with aggressive forms of breast cancer like triple-negative breast cancer.