Sheffield Scientist Investigates How To Stop Breast Cancer Spreading To The Bone

Research identified molecule which plays a critical role in helping secondary breast tumours form in the bone.

A LEADING scientist from the University of Sheffield is investigating a possible key to preventing breast cancer spreading to the bone. The cutting-edge research is funded by a grant worth almost £200,000 by research charity Breast Cancer Now.

If breast cancer spreads around the body – known as secondary breast cancer – it becomes incurable. Over 1,000 women in South Yorkshire are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and more than 220 women in the region die from the disease each year.

The majority of the 11,500 women who die as a result of breast cancer each year in the UK will have seen their cancer spread. The bone is one of the most common places for breast cancer to spread to, with around 70 per cent of secondary breast cancer patients having tumours in the bone.