Overview
We are interested in exploring the impact of diet on breast cancer progression. We aim to identify key molecular factors involved in this process and target them to prevent cancer growth and metastasis.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with 1 woman diagnosed every 10 minutes. Although the 5-year survival rate has improved in recent years, 12,000 patients in the UK still die from this disease each year, primarily due to therapy resistance and cancer spread.
Diet represents a significant factor in cancer predisposition, with certain dietary habits known to increase the risk of specific cancers. For example, consuming high amounts of red and processed meat is associated with a 15–30% increased risk of colon cancer. Similarly, diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates are linked to an elevated risk of endometrial cancer. While much research has focused on the role of diet in cancer initiation, we know far less about how dietary factors influence the progression of the disease.
Diet is a major non-genetic driver of cell state transitions, as it shapes the metabolic environment and alters the nutrient availability of cancer cells. Understanding these relationships could open new avenues for dietary interventions in the treatment of breast cancer.
Featured Publications

RNA modifications in physiology and disease: towards clinical applications
15th September 2023
Authors review the types of RNA modifications, how RNA modification profiles are altered in response to changes in the microenvironment and what we need to do to integrate RNA modifications into clinical approaches.

Mitochondrial RNA modifications shape metabolic plasticity in metastasis
29th June 2022
Authors discovered that CD36-dependent non-dividing, metastasis-initiating tumour cells require mitochondrial m5C to activate invasion and dissemination. They show that a mitochondria-driven gene signature in patients with head and neck cancer is predictive for metastasis and disease progression.

RNA modifications regulating cell fate in cancer
29th June 2022
Here, authors focus on recently discovered regulatory functions of RNA modifications and discuss their emerging roles in regulating cell fate in normal tissues and cancer.
Our Working Hypothesis
How diet shapes the epitranscriptome to modulate cancer cell behaviour
Tumour progression and metastasis depend on how well cancer cells can adapt their metabolism and change their behaviour in response to their environment. Diet plays a major role in this process by reshaping the way cancer cells function at a molecular level.
The diagram to the right highlights key research questions we’re tackling to understand how diet affects the epitranscriptome—the chemical modifications on RNA that control protein production in cells.
These modifications are crucial for helping cancer cells switch states, such as from growing rapidly to becoming motile and invasive, a key step in metastasis. The shift from using glucose and amino acids to relying on fatty acids for energy reflects how cancer cells adapt their metabolism during these transitions.
Our goal is to figure out how specific dietary factor changes to the epitranscriptome enable shifts in cancer cell behaviour.

Research areas
Our lab focuses on how diet impacts the course of breast cancer progression by modulating mRNA translation. To this end, we use xenotransplantation models and multimodal molecular profiling techniques, combined with diverse bioinformatics approaches, centred around RNA biology (i.e., Ribo-seq, RNA-seq, Nanopore-seq). We have discovered that cells initiating metastasis rewire their RNA modifications landscape to synthesize proteins necessary for energy production and dissemination from primary tumours. We are now looking at how these RNA modifications can be reprogrammed by certain nutrients in diet to affect tumour growth, metastasis and patient survival, and how we can use these vulnerabilities to improve cancer treatments.
All Institute Publications
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-024-02157-x
The PI3K-AKT-mTOR axis persists as a therapeutic dependency in KRASG12D-driven non-small cell lung cancer
12 November 2024
Institute Authors (1)
Amaya Viros
Labs & Facilities
Genome Editing and Mouse Models
Research Group
Skin Cancer & Ageing
12 November 2024
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-024-01610-0
The small inhibitor WM-1119 effectively targets KAT6A-rearranged AML, but not KMT2A-rearranged AML, despite shared KAT6 genetic dependency
8 October 2024
Institute Authors (6)
Georges Lacaud, Mathew Sheridan, Michael Lie-a-ling, Liam Clayfield, Jessica Whittle, Jingru Xu
Research Group
Stem Cell Biology
8 October 2024
/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Annual-Report-2023.pdf
2023 Annual Report
13 September 2024
13 September 2024
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh7954
Vitamin D regulates microbiome-dependent cancer immunity
25 April 2024
Institute Authors (1)
Evangelos Giampazolias
Research Group
Cancer Immunosurveillance
25 April 2024
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-024-01363-w
Streamlining mouse genome editing by integrating AAV repair template delivery and CRISPR-Cas electroporation
10 April 2024
Institute Authors (1)
Natalia Moncaut
Labs & Facilities
Genome Editing and Mouse Models
10 April 2024
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.13.568969v1
A novel human model to deconvolve cell-intrinsic phenotypes of genetically dysregulated pathways in lung squamous cell carcinoma
14 December 2023
Institute Authors (3)
Carlos Lopez-Garcia, Caroline Dive, Anthony Oojageer
Research Group
Translational Lung Cancer Biology
14 December 2023
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A note from the Group Leader – Sylvain Delaunay
My team and I are fortunate to be part of a collaborative and innovative scientific community at the CRUK Manchester Institute. By working closely with researchers and clinicians, we ensure our discoveries address patient needs and have the potential to be translated into effective treatments.
Our group focuses on understanding the role of RNA modifications in cancer biology. Using advanced experimental approaches, we aim to uncover new insights that can transform cancer research and guide the development of novel therapies.