Understanding the microbial ecosystem in pancreatic cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the contribution of the microbial ecosystem (bacterial, fungal and viral) in modulating immunity and disease outcome in pancreatic cancer
IRAS ID
303613
Contact name
Adam Frampton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Surrey
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Approximately 10,300 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year. It is the 10th most common cancer in the UK. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a particularly poor overall prognosis, with a 5-year overall survival (OS) of just 9%, largely due to the fact that most patients present with advanced stage disease and most treatment regimens are ineffective. Even when patients can undergo surgical resection, the recurrence rate is very high and median OS varies between 24 to 30 months. Despite this, a minor subset of patients survive > 2 years post resection. The study of these long-term survivors (LTS) is beginning to reveal important factors that determine the survival of PDAC patients and has opened up a new avenue of therapeutic opportunities to improve the life expectancy of these patients for whom currently few therapeutic options exist. This study aims to look at the microbial ecosystem of long term PDAC survivors and study its impact on the immune system. We will analyse the profile of the Bacteriome, Mycobiome and virome in paraffin embedded tumour blocks and in bile samples.The profiles will be compared and correlated to overall survival. We will validate the presence of microbiota in tumour blocks via IHC staining and compare this to distribution of immune cells. RNA will also be extracted from tumour blocks and nanostring used to look at the genes involved in biology of the tumour microenvironment and immune response. This will also be correlated with microbial profile and patient outcome. We will investigate the direct anti-tumour effects of the microbiome by using chromatography to identify siderophores and investiage their impact on PDAC derived organoids.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/YH/0286
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion