Latest Short Talks Discusses How Researcher Models Spread of Breast Cancer Using Hydrogels

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. Approximately one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and one in 43 will die from it. Any means of curing it will require better understanding of how it grows and spreads through the body.

This month on Short Talks from the Hill, Younghye Song, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and affiliated researcher with the Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center, discusses her research on breast cancer. Song is studying how nerve fibers in breast tumors may act as highways for the spread of cancer.

"Breast tumor innervation is basically a process where you're seeing more nerve fibers or axons infiltrating the primary tumors," Song explains in the interview. "And this whole field of cancer neuroscience is a rapidly emerging field in cancer research. And it is because studies after studies are starting to show that these nerves are not just passive bystanders, but they are active communicators with cancer cells and the surrounding cells that can really fuel disease aggravation."

You can listen to Song's podcast by clicking on the link above or by visiting the home of research and economic development news at the U of A.

And remember, you can now listen to Short Talks programming wherever you get your podcasts. Previous podcasts can be found at the link above or by visiting arkansasresearch.uark.edu.

Thank you for listening!