Laboratory models of liver, biliary and pancreatic cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study designed to develop in vitro models of liver, biliary and pancreatic cancer for the investigation of tumour biology and potential therapies
IRAS ID
169164
Contact name
Kourosh Saeb-Parsy
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Liver, biliary and pancreas cancer are major causes of morbidity and mortality. Potential therapeutic options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy alone or in combination. Despite advances in recent years, outcomes for patients with liver, biliary and pancreatic cancer remain poor, with a significant proportion of patients dying from their disease. There is therefore an urgent need to develop and optimise new models for the study of these cancers in the laboratory. We have recently described laboratory culture systems that allow, for the first time, the long-term (>1 year) expansion of human pancreas, biliary and liver stem/progenitor cells into 3D structures that we have termed organoids. The aim of this study is to use tissue from patients undergoing surgery for cancer of the pancreas, bile duct or the liver, to develop laboratory models of these tumours that can be used to study the biology of the cancers and the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0753
Date of REC Opinion
24 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion