Patients diagnosed with early stage breast cancer have an excellent prognosis due to advances in approaches to targeted treatment. However, for those diagnosed with advanced disease that has spread to different sites in the body, there are limited treatment options. Unlike many cancers, breast cancer spreads to bone, and there is no cure for this. The mechanisms involved in this aspect of breast cancer spread are not fully understood. Understanding this process could aid in the development of biomarkers to better predict disease spread and identify patients that are at a greater risk of bone metastasis. Factors released by the tumour including Endothelin-1 have been shown in model systems to help cancer cells to spread to bone and form new tumours. In this study we will examine tumour tissue and blood samples from patients with breast cancer-bone metastases, and also models of disease. We will determine the relationship between tumour characteristics including the expression of Endothelin-1 and it’s receptors, and circulating Endothelin-1 in the bloodstream during disease spread to bone. This will help to determine the true relationship between these factors and breast cancer-bone metastasis, and whether Endothelin-1 in the bloodstream may serve as an indicator of disease spread to bone.
