Hepatocellular Carcinoma & Pancreatico-biliary Tract Malignancy.
Scientists supported by the Foundation are looking at the immunological basis of liver cancer and how the body reacts to a cancerous tumour in the liver, as well as how that reaction is affected by the current treatments available.
Patients with a background of chronic hepatitis B or C infection, Haemochromatosis, autoimmune liver disorders or alcoholic cirrhosis have an increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Possible treatments include surgical resection ie removal of the tumour, whole organ transplantation, or palliative approaches such as chemo-embolization, alcohol injection and radiofrequency ablation which can slow its progress and give prolonged survival.
The majority of patients diagnosed with HCC show a raised level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in their blood which has been produced by the tumour cells. Scientists supported by the Foundation are looking at ways to enhance the sensitivity of the immune system to this antigen as the basis of a therapeutic vaccine. One particular aspect of the body’s immune response to HCC which is being investigated is the immune reactivity following treatment of the tumour with chemoembolisation* and secondly, the role and regulatory function of T cells. T cells belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and they play a central role in immunity. However a sub-group of T cells, called regulatory T cells, actually suppress the immune response. A better understanding of these processes may be the basis of better treatments. The Foundation is also supporting laboratory and clinical studies relating to pancreatic cancer and biliary tract cancer with the aim of improving the survival and quality of life for patients.
The outlook for people with pancreatic cancer and biliary tract cancer is very poor with an overall five-year survival of less than 5%. The only curative option, surgery, is appropriate for only a small minority and for most patients, treatment by endoscopic or percutaneous placement of biliary stents can reduce the severity of their symptoms and slow progress of the disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new therapy for bile duct cancer. It combines a drug (called a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent) with a specific type of laser light, to kill cancer cells.
Other research is looking at improving the accuracy of diagnosis of pancreatico-biliary malignancies by the identification of markers for better diagnosis of biliary tract cancers.
(*Embolisation is a procedure used to restrict the blood supply to the tumour and in chemoembolisation this procedure is combined with chemotherapy to inhibit growth of the cancer)
The majority of patients diagnosed with HCC show a raised level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in their blood which has been produced by the tumour cells. Scientists supported by the Foundation are looking at ways to enhance the sensitivity of the immune system to this antigen as the basis of a therapeutic vaccine. One particular aspect of the body’s immune response to HCC which is being investigated is the immune reactivity following treatment of the tumour with chemoembolisation* and secondly, the role and regulatory function of T cells. T cells belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and they play a central role in immunity. However a sub-group of T cells, called regulatory T cells, actually suppress the immune response. A better understanding of these processes may be the basis of better treatments. The Foundation is also supporting laboratory and clinical studies relating to pancreatic cancer and biliary tract cancer with the aim of improving the survival and quality of life for patients.
The outlook for people with pancreatic cancer and biliary tract cancer is very poor with an overall five-year survival of less than 5%. The only curative option, surgery, is appropriate for only a small minority and for most patients, treatment by endoscopic or percutaneous placement of biliary stents can reduce the severity of their symptoms and slow progress of the disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new therapy for bile duct cancer. It combines a drug (called a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent) with a specific type of laser light, to kill cancer cells.
Other research is looking at improving the accuracy of diagnosis of pancreatico-biliary malignancies by the identification of markers for better diagnosis of biliary tract cancers.
(*Embolisation is a procedure used to restrict the blood supply to the tumour and in chemoembolisation this procedure is combined with chemotherapy to inhibit growth of the cancer)