2008/07/28

The "Asociación de Cáncer de Mama de Bizkaia" visited the Breast Cancer and Stem Cells laboratory

The "Asociación de Cáncer de Mama de Bizkaia" visited the "Breast Cancer and Stem Cells" laboratory on the 12th of June.

Several members, including the president of the association, Dª Georgina Sastre, visited the facilities of the centre accompanied by Dr. Maria Vivanco, who presented to the visitors the work carried out in her laboratory on breast cancer.

Their research, which focuses on the role that steroid hormones play in the growth and differentiation of the breast stem cells, can contribute to improve our knowledge of the mechanisms that control the initiation and progression of breast cancer. Breast cancer can be initiated by mutations in the population of breast stem cells; therefore the identification and characterisation of the signalling pathways implicated in the control of the growth and differentiation of the stem cells can facilitate in the future the design of strategies for the prevention and the most effective treatment of breast cancer. All the Acambi's members showed a great interest in the work of the laboratory and discussed at length on the topic. The unanimous conclusion was that it is increasingly evident that the collaboration between patients, doctors and researchers is essential to continue our advance in the fight against breast cancer. For more information about Acambi: http://www.acambi.org/