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What’s this project about?
Survival rates for breast cancer have dramatically improved in recent decades, but more than 12,300 women still die from the disease each year in the UK. Professor Stott is investigating ways to stimulate a patient’s own immune system to recognise and kill their breast cancer cells. This exciting area of research, called ‘immunotherapy’, could open up new possibilities for treating the UK’s most common cancer.
What is the science behind this project?
The immune system protects the body against infections from foreign invaders, such as bacteria. But unfortunately it isn’t very efficient at killing cancer cells because they are our own cells that have gone wrong. A potential new approach to treat the disease is to harness a person’s immune system to attack their cancer cells.
Many different kinds of white blood cell are involved in the body’s immune response. One type, called B-cells, produce antibodies. Scientists believe that antibodies may play a vital role in our immune response to cancer. B-cells can recognise certain molecules on the surface of cancer cells. This triggers them to make specific antibodies that stick to the cancer cells, tagging them for destruction by other immune cells.
The ultimate goal of Professor Stott’s research is to develop vaccines that train a patient’s own B cells to recognise their breast cancer cells more effectively. These so-called therapeutic vaccines will hopefully encourage the body to mount a powerful immune response against the disease.
These vaccines could be used alongside other treatments to stop cancers growing. They could also help kill any cancer cells that remain after other treatments have stopped working, and make the cancer less likely to come back.
Looking to the future
Professor Stott’s team is currently carrying out crucial lab studies to understand the natural immune response against breast cancer. This will lay the foundations for developing new and effective vaccines to treat, and possibly even prevent, the disease in the future.
For more information about breast cancer you can visit the cancerhelp website breast cancer pages.
Meet Rebekah
Former Casualty star Rebekah Gibbs was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer just 10 weeks after the birth of her beautiful daughter Gigi.
She has set up a giving group to encourage people to get involved and help fund Professor Stott's research.
Meet the man behind the science
You’ve already heard about Professor David Stott’s breast cancer research in Glasgow, now you can meet the man behind the science.
Hear why he cares about beating breast cancer and his own experience of prostate cancer in his new video.
The difference you can make
This research is aimed at finding new ways to beat cancer and could help reduce the number of women dying from the disease in the future.
We want to raise £52,500 to support Professor Stott’s vital work this year
You can directly support Professor Stott’s research to lay foundations for future breast cancer treatments.
