Scientists from the Norwich Research Park are launching a new study into breast cancer.
The research team from the Quadram Institute, University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital are recruiting participants who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer to donate their tissue for research. The study has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee of the University of East Anglia (FMH 201819-092HT).
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in women in the UK, but if it is diagnosed early, prognosis is good. Breast cancer survival rates have improved dramatically over the last 10-20 years largely due to breakthroughs in screening programmes, anti-cancer therapies, and a deeper understanding of how the disease develops. But, more still needs to be done to help save the thousand lives a month that are lost to breast cancer in the UK.
This is where the researchers hope that this new project, called the BEAM Study, will make a difference. It is focusing on microbes, specifically the bacteria and other microorganisms that live in each of our digestive systems. Known collectively as the microbiome, they might seem like unlikely heroes in the fight against breast cancer, but a number of studies have indicated that these microbes can actually boost cancer therapies and may also act as a biomarker we can use to screen cancer patients.
Most of the work so far has taken place in cancers of the gut and skin, with much less work focusing on breast cancer. However, this is changing, and the BEAM Study will be one of the few trials to date exploring the gut microbiome and breast cancer.
To carry this high-quality research the team needs to recruit patients who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Participants will be kindly asked to donate faecal samples to uncover what microbes are present in their gut and which ones might be missing.
For a more detailed explanation of the study, please see the Patient Information Sheet or contact the NRP Biorepository at 01603 289221 or biorepository@nnuh.nhs.uk
