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Archive for 2023
Canary Ovary Team is approaching a milestone of completing its first study of fallopian tubes.
November 1, 2023
The Canary Ovary Team’s initiative to tackle High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) is approaching a milestone of completing its first study of fallopian tubes from women with and without mutations in the BRCA genes.
HGSOC arises from the fallopian tubes, is the most common and deadly type of ovarian cancer, and women with BRCA mutations are at higher risk. The team has been carefully studying tubes to find whether there are BRCA-associated signals present at the molecular level, even in BRCA mutant tubes that appear “normal” under the microscope.
When complete, this study will be the largest of its kind and will serve as a definitive resource for follow-up studies and for the research community focused on detecting ovarian cancer early.
Don Listwin Award For Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Early Detection 2023 goes to: Professor Peter Sasieni
Congratulations to Professor Peter Sasieni, Academic Director of the Kings Clinical Trials Unit at King’s College London, who was presented with the 2023 Don Listwin award last night at the Early Detection of Cancer conference dinner. The award recognizes outstanding contribution to cancer early detection.
Peter’s long career in cervical cancer prevention started with his first post-doctoral position at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, looking at ways to optimize cervical cancer screening. He then looked at the potential for HPV testing to improve cervical cancer screening, followed by researching HPV vaccination as a means of cervical cancer prevention. The first HPV vaccinations were administered in 2006, and Peter was the lead author of the 2021 paper* showing that the implementation of HPV vaccination has led to a dramatic reduction in cervical cancer incidence.
Peter has also been working with Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald on the BEST trials which have assessed the use of the Cytosponge “sponge on a string” device as a means of early detection and prevention of oesophageal cancer and are now exploring its implementation as a screening test for people on long-term medication for heart-burn symptoms, a risk factor for Barrett’s oesophagus, a potential precursor to oesophageal cancer.
Peter’s award is richly deserved and we offer him our warmest congratulations.
*Falcaro, Milena, Alejandra Castañon, Busani Ndlela, Marta Checchi, Kate Soldan, Jamie Lopez-Bernal, Lucy Elliss-Brookes, and Peter Sasieni. “The effects of the national HPV vaccination programme in England, UK, on cervical cancer and grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia incidence: a register-based observational study.” The Lancet 398, no. 10316 (2021): 2084-2092.
(credit @ Hannah Chang from https://www.earlycancer.cam.ac.uk/news/peter-sasieni-wins-2023-don-listwin-award)
Early Detection of Cancer Annual Conference- EDx23 – hosted by Cancer Research UK, Canary Center at Stanford, & OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, and bringing together great minds to collaborate in cancer early detection research!
The Early Detection of Cancer Conference brought nearly 500 researchers, physicians, patients, industry leaders and supporters to London in October to share the latest findings in early detection of cancer. The conference was the largest since its inception and included lively debates, discussions, and presentations of recent advances including:
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- using data and prediction models to risk stratify for cancer screening;
- incorporating machine learning for earlier detection;
- integrating imaging and biomarkers for early detection;
- involvement of patients, regulatory bodies and governments in delivering tests that detect aggressive tumors at their earliest stages when they have the best chance of cure.
Click here for the full agenda of speakers and topics:
