Edwards Group | Bone Oncology

We aim to identify the mechanisms contributing to bone disease caused by cancer and develop new treatments for these conditions.

Metastasis of cancers to bone

Cancer-induced bone disease is a characteristic feature of several types of cancer, including the hematological malignancy multiple myeloma, and other tumors that metastasise to bone such as breast, prostate and lung. In addition to the development of debilitating skeletal complications, the bone marrow provides a unique hospitable microenvironment, and once tumors become established in bone, they are largely unresponsive to treatment.

The overall goal of our research is to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to disease pathogenesis, and so identify and validate novel therapeutic approaches. Our focus is on the role of the tumor microenvironment and tumor-host interactions.

Major ThemeS

Obesity, adipocytes and adipokines in tumour growth and cancer-induced bone disease
Aging, senescence and dormancy in the tumour-bone microenvironment
Metabolism in the prostate cancer-bone microenvironment
Using microfluidics to study the tumour-bone microenvironment
Circulating tumour cells in prostate cancer bone metastasis