YWBCRI–FMUL

A European hub at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, advancing translational programs across early biology, DCIS transition, and systemic detection.

The Young Women’s Breast Cancer Research Institute of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (YWBCRI–FMUL) is an affiliated center of the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Research Institute (YWBCRI). The YWBCRI is dedicated to investigating the promoters and early biological/molecular origins of breast cancer in young women, in line with the global mission of the YWBCRI.

The YWBCRI–FMUL unites researchers, clinicians, students in training, and scientific collaborators from FMUL with an interest in and experience with the study of breast cancer biology, metabolic signaling and cancer metabolism, early detection methods, pre-invasive disease, and, more generally, molecular pathology.

This center contributes to the shared mission of the YWBCRI to conceptually shift the focus of breast cancer research upstream and to earlier stages of the natural history of the disease — from the study of established and clinically evident disease to the study of the range of measurable biological changes that condition early risk, transformation and biological progression, and, subsequently, clinical outcomes.

Scientific Priorities Include

• Study of early biological changes associated with breast cancer in young women
• Investigation of early microinvasive breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ
• Identification of risk signs that can be measured in blood, tissues, or through other biological analyses
• Development of knowledge that supports future prevention and early detection strategies

YWBCRI–FMUL is part of YWBCRI, a scientific initiative aligned with the mission of the Breast Cancer in Young Women Foundation. This center conducts collaborative, non-degree-granting research-focused activities and contributes to the Institute’s integrated scientific programs in the areas of:

• Mitochondrial Field Effect
• Biology of Microinvasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ
• Detection of Early Systemic Risk Signals

The YWBCRI–FMUL team collaborates with FMUL faculty, staff, and researchers throughout the YWBCRI network to generate new knowledge and accelerate research on breast cancer in young women.

Together, the YWBCRI centers constitute a coordinated global research network dedicated to understanding early biology, identifying risk before the disease becomes established and/or advanced, and creating new opportunities for prevention, early detection, and improved clinical outcomes in young women.