This project aims to identify biomarkers for the early diagnosis of women at high risk of breast cancer.

As most breast cancer deaths occur due to metastatic disease, a key part of disease control and prevention lies in early detection. A promising approach to breast cancer detection lies in the opportunity to sample the intraductal environment which is in direct contact with the majority of breast tumours (Dua et al., 2005). In collaboration with our clinical colleagues in the Breast Unit at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust we have assessed the feasibility of using a SELDI-TOF/MS based proteomic approach to identify potential biomarkers in nipple aspirate fluid (Noble et al., 2007a; Noble et al., 2007b). Currently we are investigating whether methylation-specific PCR of breast bio-fluid can be used to predict the onset and progression of subclinical disease.