Investigating the immune response to breast cancer stem cell antigens: implications for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Antibodies against tumour antigens are commonly found in serum of patients and they can be used as powerful diagnostic tool. In our laboratory, we have established that autoantibodies against cancer stem cell antigens can be detected in breast cancer patient sera. This project aims to investigate the detection of autoantibodies in patients affected by triple negative breast cancer (a type of aggressive cancer that affects younger women and for which there is no early detection method and targeted therapy). We aim to identify the antigens at the basis of the immune response that can be used to develop novel diagnostics and effective therapies for this aggressive type of cancer.