Kelley S. Madden

• Research Assistant Professor

  • Biomedical Engineering

Brown Lab

Research Overview

In breast cancer patients, chronic emotional stress is an unfortunate accompaniment to the physiological toll of the cancer itself. In laboratory animals, exposure to stressful situations, such as surgery, social isolation, or restraint, can accelerate tumor growth, but the biological mechanisms are not clear. We propose that release of norepinephrine, a sympathetic nervous system neurotransmitter released by stressor exposure, can promote tumor growth by facilitating the growth of new tumor blood vessels (angiogenesis). We will examine the role sympathetic nervous system activation plays in tumor pathology by assessing angiogenesis, and pro-angiogenenic pathways in vitro and in vivo. These experiments take advantage of a unique combination of abilities and interests in our laboratory, including expertise in the neuroendocrine response to stress, as well as an established research program pioneering the use of powerful new microscope technologies to study tumor biology in general and breast cancer angiogenesis in particular. Our results will provide insight into the role that stress plays in breast tumor growth and will begin to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. These experiments will also lay the foundation for future experiments studying how stress-induced neurotransmitters and hormones signal malignant and host cells and influence tumor growth. Inhibiting the host stress response may be an additional tool to retard breast cancer growth in humans