Research grants 2010/11

The Department of Gynaecological Oncology, University College London, in partnership with the Division of Surgery and Oncology, Liverpool University have been awarded £150,000 over 18 months.

Led by Dr Eithne Costello (above left), The Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre and Dr John Timms (above right), Head of Cancer Proteomics at UCL.

This project aims to further develop recent work to identify serum biomarkers of pancreatic cancer with a view to earlier diagnosis. It is based on new methods that allow the measurement of many different proteins from small samples of blood serum and findings from a previous study.  This study strongly advocated the use of different markers, such as CA19-9, in a combined panel of biomarkers, to be better predictors of cancer than any particular marker on its own.

"This Pancreatic Cancer UK funding is essential to allowing assessment of potential cancer biomarkers that will hopefully lead to the development of blood tests for the early detection of pancreatic cancer". 

The Centre for Stem Cell Research, Institute of Hepatology, University College London have been awarded £140,210 over two years.

Led by Dr Stephen Pereira, University College London This project will attempt to define whether a new molecular pathway can be targeted using a new generation of drugs to treat pancreatic cancer. The pathway is involved in starting the process of DNA replication which is sped up in cancer cells. Tissue samples taken from patients who have previously had biopsies or operations for pancreatic cancer will be used to investigate this molecular pathway in more detail, using a number of techniques. Specific treatments that block this pathway will be used to attempt to kill pancreatic cancer cells in the laboratory.