Congratulations to two researchers who have been awarded nearly £100,000 from Cancer Research UK. The project, led by Dr Srinivasa Rao and Dr Beatriz Gamez Molina (Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences), focuses on prostate cancer and multiple myeloma—two diseases that can remain in an indolent, and often asymptomatic, state for many years before progressing to more serious forms. It is currently a challenge to predict which patients will have cancers that will progress to aggressive disease that could benefit from earlier intervention and those that can be safely left untreated.
For both cancer types, it is known that the interplay between the accumulation of DNA mutations in the cancer cells with signals from the surrounding tissue is important for cancer progression. However, what is happening at a molecular level to drive progression is poorly understood.
In order to pinpoint both genetic changes in tumour cells and signals from nearby tissue that may trigger progression, the team will undertake a high-detailed multi-omic analysis of biopsies from early disease. The researchers will detect the early forms of aggressive cancer cells, identify interactions between these cells and the surrounding tissue and characterise histopathological features associated with aggressive disease. Using these data, the team aims to identify early warning signs of aggressive cancer development.
The project is currently a proof-of-concept study, but the researchers hope to expand it to larger patient groups in the future. If successful, the work could pave the way for new diagnostic tools capable of spotting high-risk patients much earlier. It may also highlight biological factors that could be targeted to stop cancers becoming more aggressive, improving outcomes for patients with these common cancers.