Doctors have launched a large-scale study to understand why a small proportion of cancer patients survive for long periods of time, even after being diagnosed with the most aggressive forms of cancer.
Eight NHS cancer centers are joining dozens of hospitals around the world to find patients who have an exceptional response to cancer treatment and live much longer than expected.
Researchers in this study collected detailed biological information about 1,000 patients and their tumors, analyzing DNA, blood proteins, microorganisms, and molecular biomarkers to understand why patients were doing so well. I hope that this will be clarified.
The insights gleaned will be used to understand cancer weaknesses and design new treatments for aggressive tumors, with some treatments targeting key biological features found in so-called super survivors. The aim is to imitate and improve the outlook of other patients.
Oncologists from more than 40 countries are participating in the study, which looks at people who have lived extremely long lives after being diagnosed with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, an aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma, or metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. We are considering registration. Those who are in the top 3% of survival times are eligible.
Dr Sankamma Ajitkumar, consultant clinical oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We don't expect these cancer patients to survive beyond two or three years, but around 3-5% do. ” he said. “I always wonder why these people are alive. Is there something in the tumor or in the genes that actually makes it easier to fight this cancer?”
Rosalind Research is named after Rosalind Franklin, the British X-ray crystallographer whose photo 51 is famous for capturing the double helix structure of DNA. This photo was taken in 1952, six years before Franklin died of ovarian cancer.
Professor Ajitkumar said: “Until this study was done, we had to look at people who have successfully fought these terrible cancers to see if we could learn anything, and if so, how we could translate that to improve disease outcomes. Very few people were willing to consider it.”
Some patients survive thanks to the genetic specificity of their tumors, which makes them particularly susceptible to anticancer drugs. For others, the answer lies in the immune system's ability to destroy cancer cells. This study aims to understand these and other factors that help patients survive.
Data collected from super survivors will be stored in a global database run by Cure51, a French startup that is funding Project Rosalind with investment from Paris-based venture capital firm Sofinnova.
“We know these people will survive,” said Nicholas Wollikow, CEO and co-founder of Cure51. “We need to understand why and unravel the mechanisms of survival. If we succeed in this, we have a good chance of contributing to the eradication of cancer.”
However, finding and registering super survivors may not be easy. In the UK, cancer patients who are doing well are discharged from hospital after five years, making it difficult for doctors to monitor their progress. “Tracking them will be a big problem,” Ajitkumar said. Super survivors interested in joining the UK arm of this study should contact Cambridge Cancer Trials Center at info@cancer.cam.ac.uk.
Dr Hattie Brooks from Cancer Research UK said: 'To develop more effective ways to beat cancer, it is important to understand why treatments have different effects on people with the same type of cancer. It is important.” This could ultimately allow doctors to develop new treatments that may be effective for patients with these difficult-to-treat cancers, for which there are currently few options.
“Studies like this are particularly welcome in cancers where few people survive for at least 10 years. Although this research is in its early stages, it is an important step towards new ways to treat aggressive cancers. There is a possibility that
