Liver Cancer
Contact
Group lead
Dr Rohini Sharma
+44 (0)20 3313 3057
r.sharma@imperial.ac.uk
Related themes
Disease areas
In the media
What we do
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is the 3rd most lethal solid tumour worldwide. 80% of hepatocellular tumours arise as part of a continuum where chronic liver disease culminates into malignant transformation through fibrosis. Our group, known as the Liver Cancer Study Group is dedicated to the study of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis and molecular progression of HCC with the aim of providing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Why it is important
The vision guiding our group is to facilitate the development of precision anticancer medicine using HCC, a disease where such approach has not been reached yet, as a translational paradigm. The clinical and molecular heterogeneity of HCC is recognised as major unmet needs in the management of HCC, a disease where molecular stratification is currently not practicable in clinic and has impacted on the development of new therapies.
How it can benefit patients
An improved molecular and clinical understanding of how HCC evolves is highly important to understand how novel therapies might be beneficial in the management of patients with HCC.
Summary of current research
- Identification of novel biomarkers to predict the clinical course of the disease.
- Evaluation of the role of innate and adaptive immunity as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target in HCC.
- Epithelial to mesenchymal transition as a molecular driver of progression and drug-resistance in HCC.
- Circulating free DNA as a novel biomarkers to allow for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of HCC.
- Intratumor heterogeneity of primary and metastatic HCC.
Connections
Funders
Related Centres
Collaborators
External group members
- Jessica Howell - Consultant Hepatologist, Austin Medical Centre, Australia
- Ramya Ramaswami, Biostatistician, New England Journal of Medicine
Other
- Professor Mark Thursz
- Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson
- Profossor Adil Al-Nahass
- Dr Tara Barwick
- Dr Graham Smith (Institute of Cancer Research)
- Professor Masatoshi Kudo (Osaka, Japan)
- Professor Mario Pirisi (Novara, Italy)
- Professor Robert Thimme (Freiburg, Germany)
- Professor Jeon-Won Jang (Seoul, Korea)
- Professor Joon-won Park (Seoul, Korea)
- Professor Luigi Bolondi (Bologna, Italy)
- Professor Brian Carr (Thomas Jefferson University, PA USA)
- Professor Jacob George (Australia)
For patients
For patient-related information please see:
Industry
PhD students
When we have funding for PhD studentships, we advertise them through central channels such as Find a PhD. Information is also available on the Surgery and Cancer study page. If no studentships are currently advertised, please get in touch with the group lead with proposed project titles to discuss further.
Our researchers
Dr Joanne Evans

Dr Joanne Evans
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
Dr David J Pinato

Dr David J Pinato
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology
Dr Rohini Sharma
Dr Rohini Sharma
Reader in Clinical Pharmacology & Medical Oncology