Professor Ian Judson

The Sarcoma Clinical Trials Unit at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute for Cancer Research is a highly active group of researchers focusing on Phase II/III studies of novel treatments for sarcomas.  Although the remarkable efficacy of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib against gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) remains a paradigm for the molecularly targeted therapy of solid tumours, many other potential sarcoma targets have been identified.  

The Unit has been at the forefront of clinical trials in sarcoma for a number of years, both nationally and internationally, notably the Phase I/II, Phase III and adjuvant studies with imatinib in GIST. In soft tissue sarcomas (STS) recent trials have investigated the optimum first line therapy for metastatic disease and have tested a variety of novel agents, such as the TKI pazopanib in refractory STS and inhibitors of EGFR, bFGF, mTOR, MET, IGF-1R etc in specific sarcoma subtypes.

Forthcoming trials to be led by the Unit include an international randomised Phase II study of the angiogenesis inhibitor cediranib in alveolar soft part sarcoma and a preoperative imaging and translational study of the TKI pazopanib in resectable soft tissue tumours.

The Unit’s database of over 8500 patients provides the platform for research into individual sarcoma subtypes.  We actively encourage visiting research fellows who wish to gain experience in the management of sarcomas and our fellows have an excellent publication track record.  

We are keen to develop the role of functional imaging to investigate the activity of new agents, e.g. fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in GIST and dynamic contrast enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging DCE-MRI and DC-Ultrasound (DC-US) for angiogenesis inhibitors in STS, and to investigate in depth the molecular mechanisms involved in sensitivity and resistance to signalling inhibitors.  We are also collaborating with basic research to advance our understanding of certain signalling pathways such as IGF and the molecular mechanisms driving individual sarcoma subtypes.

Professor Judson trained at Cambridge University and King’s College Hospital Medical School. Having gained his MD at The Institute of Cancer Research, he trained in Medical Oncology at The Royal Marsden NHS Trust Foundation and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 1989.

His research initially focused on the development of new anticancer drugs, including both laboratory research and Phase I clinical trials. With the advent of molecularly targeted agents it became clear that pharmacodynamic biomarker studies, including functional imaging, were vital elements of the evaluation of new anticancer agents and many trials have since emphasised the need to validate such endpoints, including studies of angiogenesis and HSP90 inhibitors.

In addition to new drug development, Professor Judson has specialised in the management of sarcomas for the past 20 years and has made a particular study of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST). He was a principal investigator in the Phase I/II trial of imatinib for GIST in 2000/1 and has been actively involved in research into the treatment of this disease since that time.

Many potential new targets for the treatment of sarcomas have been identified in recent years and The Royal Marsden has played an important role in a number of studies testing novel agents.

Professor Judson is chief investigator for many national and international sarcoma trials and has held the positions of Chairman of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Sarcoma Clinical Studies Group, Chairman of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group and President of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society.

He is currently President of the British Sarcoma Group and Head of The Royal Marsden’s Sarcoma Unit.

The Royal Marsden has one of the largest sarcoma units in Europe and an important programme of clinical and translational research in this field.