Clinical & Translational Research > Pancreatic Cancer > Professor Daniel Palmer

My research interests relate to HPB cancers (pancreas, liver and biliary tract) and incorporate basic laboratory science, translational research and clinical trials. The relevance of this to Liverpool and one of the main reasons for my move here is that my research maps on to the already hugely successful pancreas cancer research portfolio that John Neoptolemos and the team have established here. In terms of the ‘added value’ my research brings, this will largely be in the form of the development of novel drug and immunotherapies for these cancers, with pre-clinical laboratory testing followed by an active early phase clinical trial programme, again taking advantage of the already excellent infrastructure here in terms of labs, the Pancreas Biomedical Research Unit, the Liverpool ECMC, the Liverpool Cancer Trials Unit and, of course, the Cancer Research UK Centre.

My laboratory research is currently investigating novel immunotherapy approaches to the treatment of pancreas cancer. This involves the identification of potential targets expressed by pancreas cancers that may allow recognition by the immune system using state-of-the-art proteomic and phosphoproteomic techniques, and investigating strategies to stimulate an immune response against the cancer. In particular, we are investigating an interesting molecule called CD40, which is commonly expressed by HPB cancers and which, if stimulated in the appropriate way may induce cancer cell death as well as promoting an anti-cancer immune response. My other major research interest is primary liver cancer (HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma). Again, this is highly relevant to Liverpool since this region has the highest incidence of this cancer in the UK and there remains an urgent need for newer, more effective treatments.

Presently, I am the global Chief Investigator of a randomised phase II trial investigating a novel drug treatment for patients with HCC, which provides an opportunity for Merseyside patients to access exciting new treatments. I also co-designed the NCRN randomised phase III trial called TACE-2, which is investigating the addition of a drug called sorafenib to chemo-embolisation for patients with ‘intermediate’ stage HCC and this trial has just opened in Liverpool. In collaboration with my Birmingham colleagues, we have also just secured a £600,000 grant from the NIHR to further develop our novel dendritic cell vaccination for patients with HCC. Dendritic cells are white blood cells that are highly effective at stimulating immune responses. They can be derived from patients' blood, loaded with proteins from cancer cells and re-infused intravenously to activate immune responses against the cancer. One of my key aims is to extend our dendritic cell research programme into patients with pancreas cancer and, again, Liverpool provides the ideal environment in which to achieve this.

Contact Details
Tel: 0151 706 4177

Email: Daniel.Palmer@liverpool.ac.uk