Disentangling the relationship between autoimmunity, cancer treatment, and risk of subsequent breast cancer
In this project, funded by a 2025 European Research Council Starting Grant, we are examining the role of autoimmunity on long-term outcomes after cancer treatment. Using data from several cohorts of long-term cancer survivors, we will determine how one’s (predisposition to) autoimmunity interacts with cancer therapy to modify the risk of subsequent breast cancer. With linkages to population-based registries in the Netherlands, we will also estimate the true burden of diagnosed autoimmune disease diagnoses before and after cancer treatment. Then we will use bioinformatic approaches to understand the way that (subclinical) autoimmune disease may influence the risk of subsequent breast cancers.
