Breast cancer comes back in up to 30% of patients, sometimes many years after treatment. These recurrences cause nearly all deaths from the disease. The returning cancer comes from tiny “sleeper” cells that survive treatment. These cells stay in the body without growing, in a resting or dormant state.
If we can keep these cells from “waking up,” we may be able to stop breast cancer from coming back and save lives. In our earlier research using mouse models and patient samples, we found something surprising: breast cancer sleeper cells can change their behavior and start acting like bone-forming cells. This change may help keep them dormant and stop the cancer from returning. We also showed that this bone forming activity can be seen in animals using PET scans—a common imaging method used in hospitals.
Our project aims to build on this discovery and develop a new way to keep sleeper cells dormant. To do this, we will:
- Study this bone-forming process in patient tumor samples under the microscope.
- Improve how we detect the bone forming process using PET scans in animal models.
- Use what we learn to design a clinical trial that looks for whether this process occurs in patients during treatment.
If successful, our work could reveal a new way the body keeps cancer cells asleep, help us find which patients are affected, and lead to new treatments to prevent breast cancer from returning.
