Edinburgh Cancer Research

Best poster prize at the Edinburgh Breast Cancer Special Symposium

PhD student Laura Gómez-Cuadrado from the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre won the best poster prize at the Edinburgh Breast Cancer Special Symposium 2020: March 2020

Laura Gomez poster

Congratulations to Laura Gómez-Cuadrado, a PhD student in Professor Val Brunton’s laboratory, who received the best poster prize at the Edinburgh Breast Cancer Special Symposium. In the poster she presented recent findings from her work on a type of breast cancer known as invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC).  ILC accounts for 10-15% of diagnosed breast cancers and presents unique clinical features, including an unusual pattern of metastatic dissemination, spreading to distinct sites such as the gastro-intestinal tract, peritoneum and ovary. There is strong evidence supporting the importance of the tumour microenvironment (TME) in influencing tumour progression, metastatic spread and therapeutic response. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which the TME influences the behaviour of ILC. Laura and her co-workers have identified a gene set that is enriched in the tumour microenvironment of ILC and they are currently evaluating the role of these genes in ILC behaviour and response to therapy.

The Edinburgh Breast Cancer Special Symposium 2020 took place on the 29th February in the John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland. The symposium brought together leading breast cancer scientists, clinicians and surgeons. The meeting was focused on endocrine therapy resistance, translational biomarkers and emerging therapeutics in breast cancer.

Related Links