LBCA recently spoke with Dr. Christina Curtis of Stanford University and ILC research advocate Deborah Romer about Dr. Curtis’s research project, Microenvironmental Determinants of Metastasis in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma. Dr. Curtis is the recipient of the Susan G. Komen-LBCA Metastatic Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (mILC) Research Grant, named in memory of founding member of the LBCA, Julia K. Levine, who was diagnosed with metastatic lobular breast cancer in 2012. 

Dr. Curtis’s team is using advanced technologies to study how ILC tumor cells interact with surrounding cells and how these features may influence recurrence and metastasis. The research aims to identify patients at greater risk of recurrence and ultimately inform more personalized approaches to care. 

The conversation also explores the important role of patient advocates in research. Dr. Curtis and Romer discuss their collaboration on the grant and how incorporating the patient perspective can help shape research priorities, improve communication, and ensure research addresses questions meaningful to patients.