Research
There are a number of research projects being undertaken in Manchester, UK, at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust hospital and the University of Manchester.
Understanding the immune landscape in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma
In immunotherapy the body's own immune system is used to fight cancer by helping it recognize and attack cancer cells.
Dave Morgan, a post-doc researcher working at the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at Manchester University, tells us more about his research into ACC here.
The utility of TP53 and PIK3CA mutations as prognostic biomarkers in Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma
A ground-breaking collaborative UK study led by Dr Metcalf has identified a new sub-type of ACC based on presence of TP53 mutations & associated with more aggressive disease. More research to translate to clinical practice needed.
The article concludes:
In conclusion, we have shown when combining clinical and genomic data from the UK cohort from 66 cancer centres, the TP53 mutation was associated with shorter overall survival in recurrent and metastatic salivary ACC. The study highlights the challenges associated with real-world clinical, genomic and pathological data acquisition, where limited data on multiple prognostic factors restricts the ability to perform multi-variate survival analysis. These findings raise the possibility that stratifying by genomic predictors of clinical outcomes may usefully inform follow-up strategy in addition to established clinical, pathological and genomic biomarkers. Further studies are required to translate these findings to clinical practice.
You can read the full paper here.