Translational Research > Cell Invasion and Metastasis Mechanisms

Working primarily on epithelial malignancies case-control and cohort studies will enable the identification of susceptibility genes and development of molecular-epidemiological risk models of early disease. The core theme is the identification of genes and genetic mechanisms that affect cancer cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, which includes mutation, genomic rearrangements, gene fusions, alternative splicing and methylation, as well as utilising the next generation sequencing methods and MS, which will extend the investigations with DNA and protein markers.

The objective is to accurately classify and stratify the biological genotypes and phenotypes of individual cancers so that this new information becomes translated into clinical application through development of biomarkers for early detection (CYGB, methylation profiling) and prognosis (splice variants of ERß and the oestrogen and stress related gene XBP1), as well as the identification of new therapeutic targets (ERBB2, EGFR, VEGF).

The group has also contributed to work showing that cancer development is associated with DNA replication stress, leading to DNA double stand breaks, genomic instability and selective pressure for p53 mutations. These objective parameters will be used to predict the behaviour of individual malignancies in early stage disease as well as their response to therapeutic manipulation. The next aim is to translate and integrate this knowledge into clinical application and validation together with the elucidation of mechanisms that regulate cancer invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis.

Groups specialising in this field: