Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Globally, 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Radiation therapy is standard treatment for many of these women as it significantly improves survival and decreases chances of relapse. One of the most common side effects of radiation therapy, however, is skin fibrosis, a condition characterized by hardening of normal tissue affected by radiation. Approximately half of all breast cancer patients receiving radiation treatment will develop skin fibrosis. This condition causes discomfort, pain, and changes in breast shape and/or volume. At the site of radiation, irradiated normal tissue adjacent to the tumour will send wound signals to recruit a number of other cells in the body to help repair any injury incurred. In patients with skin fibrosis, the wound signals are irregular and the repair process is heightened, causing accumulating tissue masses which harden. Monocytes are immune cells which exist in the blood and are recruited to the radiation area. Monocytes change into macrophages at the irradiated site and macrophages are the cells that work to continue the abnormal repair process. My project aims to understand how the monocytes and macrophages are functioning in breast cancer patients with radiation-induced skin fibrosis. We will also resolve the differences in the monocytes/macrophages between patients who develop skin fibrosis with radiation and ones that do not. Our goal is to be able to predict which breast cancer patients needing radiation therapy will develop skin fibrosis before or early in the course of treatment so that clinicians can better manage this major side effect. Ultimately, our research project will improve the quality of life of the large number of breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.