Sarcoma UK and GIST Cancer UK are teaming up to spend £164,182 on new GIST research, to understand these cancers better, and lay the foundations for the development of better treatments in the future.
GISTs are the most common type of sarcoma, diagnosed in about 800 people every year in England. Research over the last decade has brought huge steps forward in our understanding of GIST, identifying genetic mutations in patients’ DNA, and the development of treatments targeted towards these mutations.
Nearly £115,000 has been awarded to a project team at the University of Southampton, led by Dr Dean Bryant. The project will study the microenvironment of GISTs – the cells, tissue and molecules around the cancer. In other cancers, understanding the microenvironment has led to better predictions about patient outcomes and the development of new treatment strategies. But we don’t yet have this knowledge for GIST. Bringing together experts in computer science and biology, the team will use pioneering technologies – and one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world – to identify what cells are present in the GIST microenvironment. The project will also train PhD student Debbie Glencross to become an expert in this field.
“This funding will allow us to generate ‘maps’ of GISTs to give an unparalleled view of the architecture of these cancers for patients with poor outcomes,” says Dr Bryant. “This will allow us to identify which tumour and ‘normal’ cells contribute to GISTs resisting treatment, coming back again after treatment, and identify pathways towards new clinical trials.”
At Bart’s Cancer Institute, Prof Sarah McClelland has been awarded £50,000 from the two charities to study chromosomal instability in GIST. This is where genetic material is lost or rearranged, meaning that cellular processes don’t work as they should. It’s particularly common in GIST. Prof McClelland aims to find the ‘Achilles heel’ of this process, using advanced technology to detect small changes in DNA that occur during cell growth and division. The team in London will also work closely with Dr Cesar Serrano at the IRB in Barcelona, whose lab is contributing some new and rare GIST cell model systems to make this work as relevant as possible for GIST patients. In the long term, this research could help patients get the right subtype diagnosis, develop new ‘markers’ of prognosis and develop tailored treatments for patients.
“Some of the biggest challenges in treating GISTs are finding better markers of prognosis, and ways to make existing treatments more effective,” says Prof McClelland. “This research will answer key questions about how GISTs change their genomes, driving better diagnosis, and feed into new research to target the mechanisms behind chromosomal instability.”
This investment represents the first research projects jointly funded by Sarcoma UK and GIST Cancer UK. Working together in this way creates more opportunity to fund innovative sarcoma and GIST research, and ultimately produce vital treatments for patients.
“We are delighted to be collaborating with GIST Cancer UK to fund these projects,” says Dr Sorrel Bickley, Director of Research, Policy and Support at Sarcoma UK. “We hope that this research will unlock new knowledge and lay the groundwork for new and more effective treatments for these sarcomas.”
“Working together with Sarcoma UK we are hopeful that we can improve treatments and ultimately find a cure for this rare cancer” says Tony Manuel, Lead Trustee for Research at GIST Cancer UK. “We look forward to collaborating again on future research projects.”
Read more about Dr Bryant’s and Prof McClelland’s research.
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