Breast cancer is the most common cancer type in women. Treatment of metastatic breast cancer requires surgical treatment and radiation therapy of the axillary lymph nodes. Surgical site infection (SSI) and lymphedema are common complications of breast cancer treatment. SSI can delay the onset of oncological treatment. Lymphedema causes swelling and skin infections of the arm and deposition of excess adipose tissue. There is no cure for lymphedema. Projects 1 and 2 aim to find biomarkers which could help in the early diagnosis of SSI and lymphedema using wound exudate from the operation area. With a biomarker that could predict these complication right after surgery, prophylactic treatment could be applied and the risk for treatment delay minimized. The project is already ongoing. In Project 3 we aim to characterize the tissue level changes occurring in chronic lymphedema. The aim is to pave the way for novel therapeutic approaches for this chronic and debilitating condition.

2023

2026