Much of tumour cell biology and the tumour microenvironment may be normal wound healing responses as a consequence of the disruption of tissue structure. This is why tumours resemble wounds, and many features of the tumour microenvironment, such as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and inflammatory infiltrates, m...
In 2021, breast cancer was responsible for the death of over 3,000 women in Australia. The high prevalence and mortality of breast cancer necessitates the development of cutting-edge tools that can be used for breast cancer characterisation and treatment. In this project, a new hydrogel biomaterial system for breast cancer cell culture was develope...
Published in Pathobiology
Introduction: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer with a poorly characterized immune microenvironment. Methods: We used a five-colour multiplex immunofluorescence panel, including CD68, CD4, CD8, CD20, and FOXP3 for immune microenvironment profiling in 93 treatment-naïve IBC samples. Results: Lower grade tumours ...
Published in International journal of pharmaceutics
The tumour microenvironment presents many challenges in the development and evaluation of new anti-cancer therapeutics. Enhanced understanding of the unique metabolic characteristics of cancer cells could provide valuable knowledge to develop broad-spectrum anti-neoplastic agents with reduced systemic toxicity. However, a major limitation is the la...
Published in Acta Neuropathologica Communications
Folliculostellate cells are S100B-expressing cells with numerous functions in the normal anterior pituitary. These cells have also been identified in pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs), where their precise role remains elusive. Here, we aimed to build a refined cartography of S100B-expressing cells to characterise their interpatient and int...
INTRODUCTION: Heparin sulphate proteoglycans in the liver tumour microenvironment (TME) are key regulators of cell signalling, modulated by sulfatase-2 (SULF2). SULF2 overexpression occurs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our aims were to define the nature and impact of SULF2 in the HCC TME. METHODS: In liver biopsies from 60 patients with HCC, e...
Published in Journal of translational medicine
The tumour microenvironment and cirrhotic liver are excellent sources of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which participate in carcinogenesis. Thus, it is important to clarify the crosstalk between CAFs and HCC cells and the related mechanism in regulating carcinogenesis. Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and matched adjacent normal...
Published in BMC gastroenterology
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common neoplasm and the major cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. The high mortality rate of HCC is mainly attributed to its widespread prevalence and the lack of effective treatment. Immunotherapy as a promising, innovative approach has revolutionised the treatment of solid tumours. However, owing...
Published in Cancer letters
Emergence of small cell prostate cancer is linked to the plasticity of tumour cells and avoidance of environmental pressures. This process is thought to be reversable, however to-date evidence of this has been demonstrated in small-cell prostate cancer. To study the plasticity of prostate tumours, we look to clinical cohorts of patients covering th...
Published in Seminars in cancer biology
Cancer immunotherapy is the new generation and widely accepted form of tumour treatment. It is, however, associated with exclusive challenges which include organ-specific inflammation, and single-target strategies. Therefore, approaches that can enhance the efficiency of existing immunotherapies and expand their indications are required for the fur...
