Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Postpartum breast cancer (PPBC) refers to breast cancer diagnosed within 10 years after giving birth. Individuals with PPBC face a worse prognosis, with an increased risk of metastasis and lower survival rates compared to individuals of the same age who have never given birth. Interestingly, preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by inflammation, has been shown to reduce this risk by 20-30%. Our research focuses on understanding how pregnancy and inflammatory pregnancy complications influence breast cancer risk and progression. During pregnancy, the immune system undergoes changes to support the growing fetus. We hypothesize that these immune adaptations also create environments that promote tumours and metastasis in breast tissue after pregnancy. However, we believe that in pregnancies with inflammatory complications, these changes differ, instead protecting against breast cancer. We have found that pregnancy changes how some immune cells behave, and these changes last well after birth. Furthermore, we have found that inflammatory pregnancy complications change immune cells differently in ways that could reduce breast cancer risk.To further explore these effects, we have two goals. The first uses advanced genetic sequencing technologies to examine how pregnancy changes immune cells. The second goal is to understand if these immune cell changes can affect breast cancer development. By transplanting immune cells from previously pregnant mice into other mice with breast cancer, we will observe if the tumour-protective effects of inflammatory complications are also transferred.Our goal is to contribute to improved PPBC screening and treatment to lessen the impact of this disease for affected individuals.