In Ireland, over 3000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Although the majority of breast cancers originate in the ducts of the breast, as the disease advances it can spread to distant sites in the body. The first step in this process is often spread to adjacent lymph nodes. Indeed, the number of lymph nodes containing cancer remains the strongest indicator of patient prognosis. As the number of lymph nodes positive for disease increases, patient survival decreases. The mechanisms involved in this critical point of breast cancer spread are not fully understood. Understanding this process could aid in development of biomarkers to better predict disease spread and identify patients more at risk of progression. Factors released by the tumour including Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C help cancer cells to spread to the lymph nodes. In this study we will examine tumour tissue, lymph node tissue and blood samples from patients with breast cancer and also models of disease, to determine the relationship between a panel of tissue characteristics and circulating VEGF-C during disease spread to lymph nodes. This will help to determine the true relationship between these factors and breast cancer metastasis, and whether VEGF-C in the bloodstream may serve as an indicator of disease spread.
