Biomarkers of response to chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer
Join a focus group to share your thoughts
The project
Not all patients respond to chemotherapy, yet there is little data to predict this. This study, led by Dr Anita Balakrishnan at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will be looking at tissue (pre-operative biopsy and surgical specimens) and blood samples from patients with pancreatic cancer to identify molecular markers that can predict patients who will respond vs those that are likely to progress.
Anita and the team will compare the appearances of the tissue around the tumour (tumour microenvironment) in these samples with analysis of genes in the blood and clinic information to obtain a risk profile of patients who would benefit from chemotherapy before surgery versus those who are more likely to benefit from surgery first.
What are they going to do?
They will obtain biopsy samples from the pancreas tumour at diagnosis, and subsequently tumour samples from patients who undergo surgery, or repeat biopsy samples from patients who are not eligible for surgery due to progressed disease. These samples will be analysed for spatial transcriptomics and RNA sequencing (looking at the tissue around the tumour and at which genes are active in the tumour and surrounding tissue).
They will also perform whole genome sequencing on matched blood samples including fingerprick blood sample analysis to identify a low-cost approach to monitoring response of the tumour in the community.
Why is this research important?
Anita and the team hope this research will allow them to identify patients who will benefit from chemotherapy prior to surgery, to avoid the side-effects of chemotherapy and risk of progressive disease in patients who were never likely to respond.
They also hope to establish fingerprick blood samples as a way to monitor the response to chemotherapy at home, to avoid long time-consuming and costly journeys to hospital. Ultimately they hope to identify a risk profile that can identify patients that will have longer survival with chemotherapy first, versus those who would better benefit from a surgery first approach.
How to get involved
Anita is looking to hold a focus group with individuals with lived experience of pancreatic cancer week commencing 15th December (time TBC)
No scientific background or prior experience is needed to take part in this opportunity.
Next steps
If you are interested in chatting to Anita to give your opinion on this project or would like more information, please email Anita (anita.balakrishnan@nhs.net) quoting the involvement reference ‘RIN focus group’.
