Jaim Sutton, epidemiologist at the Centre for Cancer Prevention, sends us the following report on the research programme which the Trevor Collins Foundation is funding:
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK. It is the second most common cause of death within the UK, after lung cancer. The five year survival rate for early stage bowel cancer is greater than 90%, whilst for advanced stage bowel cancer it is less than 10%. Early diagnosis, effective screening and risk assessment/stratification is extremely important for the prevention of bowel cancer progression and improved survival rates.
Epigenetics is a revolutionary new area within genetics, where specific compounds attach or detach to the DNA, and turn genes on and off. Notably the epigenetic “turning off” of specific tumour suppressor genes and DNA repair genes can lead to cancer. Genetic differences in the DNA are also important in cancer progression, especially those that impair the function of genes involved in cancer protection.
Risk prevention models have already been used in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and breast cancer. In a clinical setting, the patients’ personal genetic characteristics are inputted into a risk prevention model to determine disease risk. A bowel cancer risk prevention model is urgently needed. Patients at risk will, as a result, be managed more effectively and tailored treatment can be developed in the future for those at high risk.
This research will develop a freely available online risk prevention model based on the epigenetic and genetic differences in patients at higher risk of bowel cancer within the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme. The study will be undertaken at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine and the Barts Cancer Institute, Barts London School of Medicine and Dentistry http://www.smd.qmul.ac.uk/research/index.html, Queen Mary University of London. The Centre for Cancer Prevention is one of three departments within the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine and conducts world leading research into the prevention of cancer with particular focus on screening, early detection and chemoprevention.
The principal investigators involved in this project are world leaders in cancer research and have excellent expertise in this area. They lead a very strong team which, with our financial assistance over a three year period, will ensure the success of this vital research project.
Professor Jack Cuzick is the director of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine http://www.wolfson.qmul.ac.uk/ccp/ and the head of the Centre for Cancer Prevention
Professor Sir Nicholas Wright is the head of the Centre for the Tumour Biology Research Group at the Barts Cancer Institute http://www.bci.qmul.ac.uk/
Further information
What is epigenetics? http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/