Researchers working to understand why some breast cancers come back years later and form incurable secondary tumours, have received a £1 million funding boost.
Thanks to the supporters of the Patricia Swannell appeal, two Breast Cancer Now research teams will receive £500,000 each to fund work into understanding why some breast cancer cells become dormant and what reawakens them many years later.
While most breast cancers don’t come back after treatment, breast cancer cells can remain dormant in some people who have been successfully treated for primary breast cancer.
These remaining cells can go into a sleep state called ‘dormancy’ and remain undetectable in the body for many years.
These cells are inactive and undetectable until they reawaken, and this can happen many years - sometimes decades - after an initial diagnosis.
Once the cells wake up and begin to grow and circulate in the bloodstream, they can develop tumours in other organs.
When breast cancer cells develop in other parts of the body it is called secondary (or metastatic) breast cancer and although treatable, it can’t be cured.
An estimated 61,000 people are living with incurable secondary breast cancer in the UK*.
Professor Penelope Ottewell’s research team at the University of Sheffield will use their £500,000 funding for their research to determine whether a new gene therapy-based approach could stop dormant breast cancer cells from waking up.
The team previously found that a protein called IL-1β is made by breast cancer cells that spread to the bone, but not by those that don’t. By inhibiting IL-1β they prevented dormant cells from waking up and growing in the bone.
In the body IL-1β is naturally switched off by a second protein called IL-1a and the researchers want to find out whether enabling bone cells to make IL-1Ra can prevent cancer growth at this site. And which bone cells should be targeted to make this protein.
Since bone can act as a “reservoir” for dormant cells, preventing them from awakening could also reduce recurrence in organs like the lungs, liver, and brain.
Professor Penelope Ottewell from the University of Sheffield said: "Our project focuses on creating a gene therapy to keep dormant breast cancer cells in the bone from waking up and spreading. By targeting a specific pathway, we aim to prevent cancer from coming back. This funding is enabling us to carry out vital research that tackles the problem of breast cancer returning long after the initial diagnosis, offering hope for better long-term survival and quality of life.”
Meanwhile, Dr Frances Turrell and her team at the University of Manchester, will be using their £500,000 funding, to investigate the role of a type of immune cell called macrophages in reawakening dormant breast cancer cells in the lung.
Dr Turrell’s previous work showed that in an aged or damaged lung, areas of the lung can trigger the reawakening of dormant cells. Now she is interested in investigating how the dormant cells communicate with macrophages in these areas of the lung.
By understanding this, they might be able to target macrophages to prevent the reawakening of dormant cells. This could lead to future treatments which prevent the late recurrence of secondary breast cancer in ER-positive breast cancer patients.
The team also want to investigate if they can identify biomarkers in the blood to predict which patients are likely to develop breast cancer recurrence in the lungs.
Dr Frances Turrell from the University of Manchester said: “We’re delighted to be receiving this funding for our research which is focussed on identifying changes in the immune system and how these affect breast cancer dormancy and late recurrence. If we can identify any of these changes in the blood, blood tests would be an easy and non-invasive way to monitor patients and identify those that are at risk of their breast cancer coming back. This would help us identify which patients require continued treatment.”
Both projects have the potential to bring hope to the 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK.
Dr Simon Vincent, director of research, support and influencing at Breast Cancer Now, said: “Thanks to incredible progress that’s been made in the diagnosis and treatment of primary breast cancer, more people are recovering from the disease and living longer than ever. While this is brilliant news, we cannot afford to ignore that some breast cancers recur years later, and more research to understand why is vital.
“Thanks to this incredibly generous funding from the supporters of the Patricia Swannell appeal, we’re embarking on research that will help us to start to understand why breast cancer cells can remain dormant and what triggers them to reawaken and start to actively grow and spread many years later.
“Our hope is that the findings from this research will help ensure people who have been treated for breast cancer can live happy healthy lives without fear of the disease coming back.”
The Patricia Swannell appeal was set up in 2022 to fund critical work in raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of secondary breast cancer, supporting healthcare professionals with education and training; and developing better testing, diagnosis and treatment through funding research tackling the challenge of dormancy.
Patricia Swannell was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in 2007 and after a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy went on to celebrate 5 years all clear. She continued medication for a further nine years.
In 2019, Patricia began to experience pain in her hips and joints and in 2021 was eventually diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her bones, liver, and abdomen. She passed away in 2023.
Patricia devoted the last 18 months of her life to driving change for people affected by secondary breast cancer and fundraised over £1 million for Breast Cancer Now. To date, the fund has raised over £1.4m.
Robert Swannell said: “When Patricia and I embarked on this mission we were astonished to find that so little was known about the science of dormancy and late recurrence in secondary breast cancer; and yet this disease, which is currently incurable, kills thousands of women in the UK each year.
“In raising the research funds, Patricia and I knew that this was not going to be a quick result, but we hoped to make positive steps up a long ladder to understanding better this disease and act as a catalyst and pathfinder for yet more research at greater scale, leading to earlier detection, better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
“It is great to see the funds now allocated and the work started. Patricia would be so delighted that a seed has been firmly planted.”
To find out more about the Patricia Swannell Dormancy and Recurrence Research Programme visit: breastcancernow.org
Breast Cancer Now is the research and support charity here for anyone affected by breast cancer. Call their free helpline on 0808 800 6000 to speak to their expert nurses or find out more and donate at breastcancernow.org
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact the Breast Cancer Now press office at press@breastcancernow.org or call 07436 107914.
Notes to editors
* Based on findings from Palmieri, C., Owide, J., & Fryer, K. (2022). Estimated Prevalence of Metastatic Breast Cancer in England, 2016-2021. JAMA Network Open, 5(12), e2248069 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.48069. This paper estimates 57,215 people living with secondary breast cancer in England in 2020/21. Combined with requested data from Public Health Scotland (2022) estimating 3,945 people living with secondary breast cancer at the end of 2020.
The Patricia Swannell Appeal for secondary breast cancer
Patricia Swannell was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in 2007 and after a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy went on to celebrate 5 years all clear. She continued medication for a further nine years.
In 2019, Patricia began to experience pain in her hips and joints and in 2021 was eventually diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her bones, liver, and abdomen. She passed away in 2023. Before she died, Patricia and her family launched the Secondary Breast Cancer Appeal with Breast Cancer Now which to date has raised over £1.4m.
In March 2024, we opened the Patricia Swannell dormancy and late recurrence research funding programme, backed by £1 million of funding.
Researchers were invited to apply for funding grants (up to a maximum of £500,000 and lasting up to 60 months) for projects researching dormancy.