On Friday 24 April 2026 at 14:00, Demet Özcan defends her PhD dissertation entitled “Association between tumor immune response and risk of recurrence in breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy”.

Radiotherapy is a key part of breast cancer treatment and reduces the risk of relapse and improves survival. However, not all patients benefit equally, and some may experience side- and late effects without benefitting from the treatment in terms of survival. In this PhD project, the role of immune cells in tumor tissue from breast cancer patients was investigated, with a focus on whether the presence of immune cells is associated with risk of relapse and death after radiotherapy.

By analyzing tissue samples from breast tumors from more than 1000 patients, the study examined whether the amount and type of immune cells present in the tumor are associated with how the disease progresses over time. The results show that patients with non-hormone-sensitive tumors and low levels of immune cells have a higher risk of relapse and poorer survival despite receiving radiotherapy.

These findings suggest that measuring immune cells in the tumor tissue can provide important information about the prognosis of the disease and may help improve risk stratificating by identifying patients with a higher risk of relapse and death. The perspective is that combining information on the presence of immunce cells and hormone sensitivity may help guide more tailored treatment, ensuring that patients receive the most effective therapy. This may ultimately lead to more personalized treatment of breast cancer.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in C114-101, Auditorium, Aarhus University Hospital. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Demet Özcan
Mail: demoez@oncology.au.dk  
Phone: +45 40557639

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