Research Interests

Molecular basis of sarcomas in relation to therapy

Sarcomas are rare cancers comprising >50 individual tumour types that together amount to ≤ 1% of human cancers. They affect all age groups, being disproportionately represented in children and young adults, and can occur at any site in the body. Broadly speaking sarcomas can be divided into those driven by a specific molecular event, possibly a mutation, more commonly a chromosomal translocation, in which case the tumours appear relatively bland and monomorphic, and those with a chaotic karyotype, associated with pleomorphic histology. The precise basis for the genetic instability in these latter tumours is currently not known, although DNA repair defects have been described. 

The Sarcoma Unit and Sarcoma Clinical Trials Team

The Sarcoma Unit at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is currently seeing >800 new patients a year for advice and treatment. It has experts in every diagnostic and treatment discipline and in the area of diagnostics, histopathology is supported by a full range of molecular diagnostic tools, including FISH, PCR and mutational analysis. Underpinning our clinical research we have an interactive prospectively maintained database, which has data on >8500 patients. These data have helped generate 25 papers in the last 5 years. Much of the clinical data are linked to archived pathology samples and molecular data. 

Sarcoma Laboratory and Translational Research at ICR

We collaborate with the laboratory of Dr David Gonzalez de Castro which provides comprehensive molecular pathology support in terms of the activating mutations, chromosomal translocations and amplifications that define individual sarcoma subtypes. There is an active research programme linked to his lab  Dr Janet Shipley’s laboratory has been studying childhood tumours, especially rhabdomyosarcoma, for some years, with notable success. Extension of this work to other types of sarcoma is ongoing and this provides an excellent opportunity for clinical fellows with an interest in sarcoma to be involved in laboratory research.

Vision for future RMH / ICR collaboration in sarcoma research

Sarcomas provide a unique opportunity to study the genetic drivers of cancer in tumours which are genetically less complex than the majority of carcinomas. The emerging knowledge of new targets has resulted in sarcomas being a useful platform for the testing of new anticancer agents. In addition to being in a position to perform the appropriate studies, with associated translational research on predictive and prognostic biomarkers, we also wish to conduct research that may lead to the identification of new targets for sarcoma therapy.