Understanding the function of the CCR7 chemokine receptor in breast cancer cells and tumours.

多达90%的癌症相关死亡是由于转移肿瘤的发展而发生的，为了能够开发出有效的恶性肿瘤治疗方法，有必要发现和详细研究允许癌细胞从原发肿瘤部位扩散的特定特征。最近的工作表明，在这一过程中，调节细胞运动的蛋白质被称为趋化因子。我们希望识别和了解乳腺癌细胞利用趋化因子及其受体(通常由血细胞使用的分子)促进肿瘤向特定解剖部位转移的机制，以期为乳腺癌的治疗干预和风险评估确定新的靶点。

As much as 90% of cancer related deaths occur due to the development of metastatic tumours, and to be able to develop efficient therapies for malignant cancers it is necessary to uncover and study in detail the specific characteristics that allow cancer cells to disseminate from the site of primary tumour. Recent work has implicated proteins that regulate cell movment known as chemokines in this process. We wish to identify and understand the mechanisms by which breast cancer cells use chemokines and their receptors, molecules normally employed by blood cells, to promote tumour metastasis to specific anatomical sites with a view to identify novel targets for therapeutic intervention and risk assessment in breast cancer