Dr Mandy Peffers
University of Liverpool
Awarded: £20,750
Status: Complete
The challenge
Chondrosarcoma is the second most common primary bone tumour overall. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy don’t always work, so new treatments are needed. Whilst some mutations in specific genes have been identified, the underlying biology that drives chondrosarcoma to develop remains largely unknown. Molecules called small non-coding RNAs (small ncRNAs) contribute to disease and cancer however their role in chondrosarcoma is poorly understood. These molecules have been shown to have potential as targets for treatment and disease biomarkers, but we don’t know enough about how they work yet. Understanding this could build towards treatments for chondrosarcoma.
How will this project tackle this challenge?
The team will use sequencing in chondrosarcoma, a technique used to investigate important genes and proteins. The team will investigate alterations in the expression of small ncRNAs, to see how they work and whether changes in how they are expressed affects development and progression of the cancer.
What this means for people affected by sarcoma
The dataset generated through RNA sequencing will provide novel targets and biomarkers that could be used for future treatments. The data will be made available to other researchers to advance the field.
