Dr Paul Huang
Institute of Cancer Research
Awarded: £119,960
Status: Complete
The challenge
Pazopanib and regorafenib are drugs which are effective in the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma. However, there are some patients who do not respond to treatment with these drugs and in other patients, the effect of the drugs can wear off as cancer develops resistance.
How will this project tackle this challenge?
This research is looking to discover the biological features of soft tissue sarcoma to understand why some patients don’t respond to pazopanib and regorafenib or become resistance to their effects. The project goals are to develop a test which will identify the patients who are most likely to respond to treatment; and how best to prevent and treat drug resistance in soft tissue sarcoma tumours.
The project will study tumour samples collected from patients who have been treated with pazopanib, the team have identified a molecular signature that is associated with drug resistance and poor treatment effect. The project involves modelling this molecular signature in sarcoma cell lines, allowing the researchers to study the complex biological processes that determine whether the cells are affected by pazopanib and regorafenib.
What this means for people affected by sarcoma
If you can accurately predict how a patient will respond to treatment, no crucial time is wasted. This project will provide the basis for new clinical trials that will help doctors to test how patients may respond to drugs before a treatment is given. It will also provide knowledge into how to overcome drug resistance in soft tissue sarcoma.
