Impact of ageing and immunosenescence on breast tumor stroma and relation with plasma ageing biomarkers and clinical outcome.

(Breast) tumors can behave differently in young versus old patients. More and more research points out the crucial role of the immune system in tumorigenesis and progression, but, at the same time, the immune system is one of the most affected components in the process of ageing. The purpose of this research project is to gain more insight into the intriguing relationship between ageing and breast cancer biology, more specifically the changes that occur within the local tumor microenvironment with increasing age, and the link between these microenvironmental changes and ageing of the individual (as measured by chronological age, geriatric evaluation, and circulating biomarkers of ageing). To this end, we will set up a prospective study in elderly versus younger breast cancer patients, focusing on age-related changes in the behavior of fibroblast cells surrounding the tumor cells, as well as changes in the immune system, both at the tumor level (amount and type of infiltrating immune cells) and at the systemic level (peripheral blood). Studying the relation between ageing and cancer will hopefully learn more about the role of the immune system in oncogenesis, which might contribute to accelerated implementation of immune modulating therapies in cancer treatment. In addition, more accurate estimation of the real biological age/frailty in older individuals via ageing biomarker measurements might ultimately allow better selection of patients for specific oncological treatments.