Project summary

In the United States, 1 in every 8 women is diagnosed with breast cancer according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Approximately 17% of these diagnoses are triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most lethal and aggressive breast cancer subtype as it lacks overexpression of the normal chemotherapy targets, hormone receptors, and Human Epidermal Receptor 2 (HER2). This is important because the absence of these protein receptors makes it difficult to find a targeted treatment, one of the main causes of poorer survival rates in TNBC patients. There are many ways in which to approach studying triple-negative breast cancer as it is associated with many factors. My project focused on understanding how varying the lipid composition of TNBC cell membranes can lead to more aggressive cancer and metastasis. One of the main methods used to study the lipid composition for my research is small-angle x-ray scattering. By studying these data, it is hoped that this will increase our understanding of targeted ways to treat and/or prevent metastatic breast cancer and help save the lives of countless women affected by this disease.