What

Breast cancer progression is driven by interactions between tumor cells and their surrounding microenvironment. This project investigates how glycosylation, a key post-translational modification, regulates this communication, whether specific glycosylation changes promote or inhibit tumor growth, and how these can be therapeutically targeted to block disease progression.

Why

The tumor microenvironment strongly influences breast cancer growth, metastasis, and treatment response. Glycosylation regulates key processes such cell signaling and immune recognition, but its role in tumor–microenvironment communication in breast cancer remains largely unexplored. Understanding these mechanisms may reveal new targets to disrupt tumor supportive microenvironments and combat tumor growth.  

How

We will develop patient-derived 3D breast cancer models, to study tumor-microenvironment interactions in a clinically relevant setting. By integrating spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and glycoproteomics, we will identify glycosylation changes associated with different microenvironmental states. Selected targets will then be functionally validated to determine their role in tumor progression and their therapeutic potential.

‍