Breast cancer (BrC) is the most common malignancy worldwide with more than 2.3 million cases annually, resulting in high morbidity and mortality, with 685,000 deaths each year. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a BrC sub-type that lacks expression of hormone receptors, and it has been associated with a poor outcome and with limited treatment options. Most BrC patients receive radiotherapy with proven benefits for survival in most stages. However, tumor recurrence, especially coupled with therapy resistance, remains a major therapeutic challenge in TNBC. Tumor cells and the cells of their microenvironment are immersed in an extracellular matrix (ECM) which has an impact on cancer progression. We study what is the role of some ECM proteins like Syndecan-1 in the radiation response of TNBC cells in mechanistic detail.

Funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, project No. GO1392_8-1