ISREC – Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research

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.

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.