Hope funded research
The development of the liquid biopsy, a technique that has the potential to revolutionize treatment for cancer and much more.
At the October Business Lunch, our guests heard from Dr Rebecca Allsopp about the development of the liquid biopsy in the Professor Jacqui Shaw group based at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. They believe that this technique will reduce reliance on more invasive biopsy procedures supporting earlier diagnosis and monitoring of cancer by reading markers in the blood.
The liquid biopsy is already in use in some areas of the NHS and private care, as well as in the American Healthcare system.
Hope Against Cancer has supported Professor Shaw’s research in the past and continues to do so through Dr Shradha Bhagani who is another member of the group.
Dr Bhagani’s research has a specialist interest in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and the aim of the study is to seek biomarkers in the liquid biopsy which can predict an individual’s response to cancer treatment.
The liquid biopsy will do this by detecting components of cancer in the blood.
Standard cancer biopsies are usually taken once and then they will become a person’s ‘passport’ for their treatment. Liquid biopsies can be taken at regular intervals and responses to treatment can be checked close to real time.
TNBC accounts for approximately 15% of all breast cancers and is associated with poor clinical outcomes and so an understanding of which therapies a person will respond to, and which ones they won’t, is vital for their best care.
Chemotherapy is a ‘cover-all’ treatment and it is often referred to as a blunt instrument. It poisons cancer cells as well as healthy cells and so research that guides patients towards more personalised treatment is one of the keys to the future of cancer treatments.
Hope’s Head of Partnerships, Tracey Hallam, who has triple negative breast cancer, is one of the participants in Dr Bhagani’s study and has had samples taken regularly throughout her treatment.
In August, the ‘If Alice Can, Anyone Can’ fundraising cycle ride raised an amazing £114,000 for Hope Against Cancer. Research into triple negative breast cancer is a cause close to Alice’s heart and so the funds raised will be specifically directed to continue Hope’s support of this research.
John Nellis
Content and Communications Officer, Hope Against Cancer
