Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research ‐ EPFL

Spanning basic and translational cancer research to fundamental cell and developmental biology.

Molecular Cell Biology of Development and Cancer

Fluorescence stereo micrograph of a mouse mammary gland intraductally injected with normal human breast epithelial cells © Marie Shamseddin / EPFL

Better choice of contraceptives can prevent breast cancer

Published:03.06.21 — There is a strong link between hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk. The main culprit are progestins, synthetic mimics of the pregnancy hormone progesterone that stimulate cell growth in the breast. An EPFL study into the distinct biological effects of different progestins on the breast shows that contraceptive-related breast cancer can be prevented by more informed choices about the composition of contraceptives.

Professors Elisa Oricchio and Gregoire Courtine. Credit: Alain Herzog/EPFL.

EPFL Professors win 2021 Leenaards Foundation Science Prizes

Published:02.06.21 — EPFL Professors Elisa Oricchio and Gregoire Courtine, have been awarded Leenaards Science Prizes for their research projects.

Cancer cells hijack the 3D structure of DNA

Published:11.05.21 — Scientists at EPFL and UNIL have used a novel algorithmic approach on cancer cells to understand how changes in histone marks (H3K27ac) induce repositioning of chromatin regions in the cell nucleus, and described how modifications of local contacts between regulatory elements (enhancers and promoters) influence oncogene expression.

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