Tartakover-Matalon lab focuses on Cancer and pregnancy. Breast carcinoma in young and especially in pregnant women is often detected at a more advanced stage in comparison to older women.
Nevertheless, breast cancer metastases are rarely found on the placenta, which serves as a barrier between the mother and the fetus. Contrary to the placenta, breast metastases are often found in the bone. The research is conducted in the Oncogenetic Laboratory at Meir Medical Center. It has demonstrated that placental cells and bone marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) modify cancer cell characteristics (phenotype and pathways) and their ability to form metastases. Particular attention was awarded to the contribution of pregnancy related hormones to these events. Our results highlighted the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) as a major player in these processes and hence we developed unique biological models, which enable studying the interaction between breast cancer cells to the placental and MSCs ECMs. Great progress has been made by employing extensive tissue and explant cultures, cellular, molecular and high throughput techniques.
Cotoact Information
Shelly Tartakover-Matalon PhD
Meir Medical Center
Matalon.Shelly@clalit.org.il
