Cancer
Researchers in Biomolecular Medicine are involved in key projects aimed at understanding the mechanisms underlying cancer using a variety of studies.
These range from the characterisation of metabolic responses to chemical exposure in vitro, to large-scale molecular profiling of epidemiological samples from biobanks.
The postioning of the Section in the Department of Surgery and Cancer is ideal for collaborative research that can be translated from the benchside into clinical applications.
Cancerous cells have a number of typical hallmarks including a distinct metabolic phenotype characterised by aerobic glycolysis. This phenomenon has been exploited in a number of clinical applications to allow the detection (e.g. PET imaging) and treatment (e.g. 5-fluorouracil) of cancer.
Metabolic profiling of biofluids and tissues using NMR and MS shows great promise in the non-invasive, early diagnosis of cancer, which will eventually aid patient stratification and treatment prioritisation. The ability to sample with minimal invasion on a regular basis means that metabolic profiling is suited to monitoring disease progression and treatment success.
One of the benefits of metabolic profiling is the ease with which findings can be translated from benchside research to a clinical setting as well as being increasingly harmonised with imaging technologies such as MRI.
Insight into the underlying biochemical mechanisms that link genetic, environmental, occupational, lifestyle and nutritional factors to cancer risk will allow more informed policy decisions in chemical risk assessment, pollution control prioritisation and global health advice.
Key Projects
Key Recent Publications
Ellis JK, Chan PH, Doktorova T, Athersuch TJ, Cavill R, Vanhaecke T, Rogiers V, Vinken M, Nicholson JK, Ebbels TMD and others. 2010. Effect of the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Trichostatin A on the Metabolome of Cultured Primary Hepatocytes. Journal of Proteome Research 9(1):413-9.
Chan EC, Koh PK, Mal M, Cheah PY, Eu KW, Backshall A, Cavill R, Nicholson JK, Keun HC. 2009. Metabolic profiling of human colorectal cancer using high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). J Proteome Res 8(1):352-61.
Keun HC, Sidhu J, Pchejetski D, Lewis JS, Marconell H, Patterson M, Bloom SR, Amber V, Coombes RC, Stebbing J. 2009. Serum molecular signatures of weight change during early breast cancer chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 15(21):6716-23.
Mycielska ME, Patel A, Rizaner N, Mazurek MP, Keun H, Ganapathy V, Djamgoz MB. 2009. Citrate transport and metabolism in mammalian cells: prostate epithelial cells and prostate cancer. Bioessays 31(1):10-20.
Teichert F, Verschoyle RD, Greaves P, Edwards RE, Teahan O, Jones DJL, Wilson ID, Farmer PB, Steward WP, Gant TW and others. 2008. Metabolic profiling of Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) tissue by H-1-NMR analysis: Evidence for unusual phospholipid metabolism. Prostate 68(10):1035-47.
Vinken M, Doktorova T, Ellinger-Ziegelbauer H, Ahr HJ, Lock E, Carmichael P, Roggen E, van Delft J, Kleinjans J, Castell J and others. 2008. The carcinoGENOMICS project: critical selection of model compounds for the development of omics-based in vitro carcinogenicity screening assays. Mutat Res 659(3):202-10.
