Investigating the impact of macrophages and hypoxia on cell plasticity in colorectal cancer

Bowel cancer patients often suffer from a high relapse rate even after treatment. One of the main reasons is that tumour cells can adapt to stress and survive. However, how tumour cells achieve this is largely unknown. This thesis shows that immune cells called macrophages and hypoxia can act together to help tumour cells survive under chemotherapy-induced damage. This reveals a potential process leading to bowel cancer relapse, which could be targeted to improve patient clinical outcomes.