The ICR and Breast Cancer Now strengthen collaborative programme to tackle lobular breast cancer

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Breast Cancer Now are building on their long‑standing collaboration with a major initiative focused on improving treatment for lobular breast cancer.

This work forms a central part of the ongoing research programme within the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), where more than 145 scientists and clinicians work together to understand how breast cancers develop, spread and become resistant to treatment.

As part of the charity’s sustained investment, this new programme – amounting to more than £1 million each year – will also enhance and support a wide range of other research projects underway across the centre.

Dedicated research urgently needed

The five‑year lobular breast cancer programme reflects growing recognition – from the global research community and patient representatives – that more dedicated research is urgently needed to improve outcomes for women affected by this disease.

Lobular breast cancer accounts for around 15 per cent of all breast cancer diagnoses. Even though it behaves differently from other breast cancers, it is still treated in largely the same way.

Although current treatments can be effective for many women, options become more limited once the cancer spreads to other parts of the body, known as metastatic invasive lobular cancer (mILC).

What makes this disease different?

Researchers in the initiative, which will bring together teams from the ICR and King’s College London, aim to address this by unpicking the biology that makes lobular breast cancer distinct, and by identifying treatment strategies tailored specifically to its behaviour.

The team will focus on three key questions:

• What molecules drive the most dangerous forms of metastatic lobular breast cancer?
• How do lobular cancer cells survive once they have spread beyond the breast?
• How can these cells be targeted and destroyed without harming healthy tissue?

Using advanced lab models, donated patient samples and targeted drug studies, scientists will explore why lobular cancer cells spread in different patterns to other forms of breast cancer, and whether existing drugs – including those used in other cancer types – could be repurposed to treat mILC.

Their findings could lead to the development of new medicines or to clinical trials designed specifically for women with metastatic lobular disease.

Building on years of work

The new programme builds on many years of lobular breast cancer research at the ICR. Scientists at the institute have helped uncover key biological features that distinguish lobular tumours from other breast cancers and have identified promising new therapeutic approaches. Recent ICR-led research , funded by Breast Cancer Now, has shown that targeting specific molecular pathways, such as the enzyme LOX, can suppress the growth and spread of lobular breast cancer in preclinical studies.

Professor Andrew Tutt, Professor of Breast Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Director of the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at the ICR, said:

“Our well-established partnership with Breast Cancer Now allows us to take on the toughest questions in breast cancer. By bringing together expertise from the ICR and King’s College London, our expanded lobular initiative will help us better understand a subtype that has been historically under‑researched. Our goal is to use this knowledge to develop new treatment approaches that will make a real difference for women affected by lobular breast cancer.”

Professor Chris Lord, Professor of Cancer Genomics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Deputy Director of the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at the ICR, said:

“This collaborative programme enables us to work at scale on the problems that matter most to patients – preventing metastasis, tackling treatment resistance, and delivering more personalised therapies. Improving outcomes for women with lobular breast cancer is a central part of this mission, and by integrating biological insights with innovative drug discovery, we aim to move rapidly toward better treatment options.”

Dr Simon Vincent, chief scientific officer at Breast Cancer Now, said:

“Lobular breast cancer has been overlooked for too long, despite affecting a significant proportion of women diagnosed with the disease. By building on the strong track record of lobular research at the ICR, this collaborative programme will help deepen our understanding of what drives this distinct form of breast cancer and accelerates progress towards more effective, targeted treatments for people affected by lobular breast cancer.”

picture credit: Renee Flaherty