Tumour biomarkers

In this project we are exploring the detailed histopathological features and immune landscape of ovarian cancer by assessing the expression of immune checkpoint molecules and their correlations with immune resident cells and cytokine network.  We employ different techniques on in vivo and in vitro models. 

Why it is important:  Comprehensive Knowledge of the tumour microenvironment is essential to understanding histogenesis, signalling pathways and identifying prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

How it can benefit patients:  Identifying immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers would be most valuable in developing evidence based personalised treatment plans for ovarian cancer patients.

Tumour-on-a-chip models are a very promising approach for studying cancer development, metastasis, and treatment strategies.  We are reviewing the strengths and limitations of currently available models, with a focus on their application to ovarian cancer.

Why it is important: Having a comprehensive understanding of the current state of tumour-on-a-chip technology provides the foundation for developing novel designs to use in our studies on ovarian cancer, replicating different aspects of the tumour microenvironment.

How it can benefit patients:  Working with our collaborators in the Faculty of Engineering we aim to develop models with potential for use in clinical practice for drug screening to identify individual tumour responses to different therapeutic agents for personalised patient treatment.

Body fluids from patients with ovarian tumours may contain tumour related biomarkers which can be detected by proteomic and metabonomic profiling.

Why it is important: A prominent issue in the treatment of ovarian tumours is that the current diagnostic measures are not all suited for early diagnosis, resulting in poorer patient outcomes.  Proteomic and metabonomic profiling of fluids has the potential of providing tumour related signatures with diagnostic potential.

How it can benefit patients: The identified biomarkers have great potential value for early diagnosis and follow up of patients with ovarian tumours.

Many factors can affect young women’s fertility, including being diagnosed with a gynaecological tumour.   In this project we explore the impact of gynaecological tumours on ovarian follicular status.

Why it is important: This study seeks to uncover how these tumours affect the health and quality of ovarian follicles, with the potential to identify biomarkers that could predict ova quality.

How it can benefit patients:  Understanding these biological changes offers foundations for more effective fertility preservation strategies, which could have significant implications for improving fertility outcomes in affected women.

We are running a survey addressed to young women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer and borderline ovarian tumours. 

Why it is important: The survey will provide valuable insights into patients’ understanding of fertility preservation, their concerns, and the factors that influence their treatment choices.

How it can benefit patients: By identifying gaps in knowledge and understanding patient priorities, the study will provide foundations for enhancing support, counselling, and decision-making tools development for women facing these challenges.

Funders

• Imperial BRC Funding

• North West London Pathology
• Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education
• Saudi Arabia Government Scholarships

Related centres

• West London Gynaecological Cancer Centre
• Wolfson Fertility Centre
• MRC-NIHR BRC National Phenome Centre
• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Tissue Bank
• Institute of Cancer Research – Tumour Profiling Unit

Internal

• Dr Ernesto Yague, Department of Surgery and Cancer
• Prof Christina Fotopoulou, Department of Surgery and Cancer
• Dr Joseph Yazbek, Department of Surgery and Cancer
• Prof Iain McNeish, Department of Surgery and Cancer
• Prof Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami
• Prof Maria Kyrgiou
• Mr Srdjan Saso
• Dr Jia Li
• Mr Sotirios Saravelos
• Prof Darryl Overby
• Prof Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
• Mr Mathias Winkler
• Mr Martin J Connor

External

• The Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis (OTTA) consortium

• CRUK Study information

Find all of Professor Mona El-Bahrawy's publications here. 

• Professor El-Bahrawy was the lead investigator of the multicentre study, Borderline ovarian tumours: A strategy for developing optimal care. 
• Professor El-Bahrawy was the nominated pathologist at Imperial College London for the following trials:
• A Two-Part, Phase I Open Label, Dose Escalation Study To Assess The Safety, Pharmacokinetics And Clinical Activity Of Nuc-1031, A Nucleoside Analogue, In Participants With Advanced Solid Tumours.
• A Two-Part Phase 1/2a, Open-Label, Dose-Escalation Study to Evaluate the Tolerability and Preliminary Antitumour Activity of OPB-111001 in Patients with Advanced Cancers that are Poorly Responsive to Standard Anticancer Treatment.
• A Phase 1b, multi-center, open-label, dose escalation study of GSK2256098 (FAK inhibitor) in combination with Trametinib (MEK inhibitor) in subjects with advanced solid tumours.
• A Phase I Open-Label Dose-Escalation Study of the Focal Adhesion Kinase Inhibitor, GSK2256098, in Subjects with Solid Tumours.
• SCOTROC 4: A prospective, multicentre, randomized trial of carboplatin flat dosing Vs intrapatient dose escalation in first line chemotherapy of ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers.
• An Open Label Study To Investigate the Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Repeat Escalating Doses of the Oral AKT Inhibitor GSK2141795 by ¹⁸F FDG PET Analysis in Subjects with Ovarian Cancer.
• Phase I, open-label, multi-center, dose-escalation study with extension to evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics and activity of CH5132799, a PI3K inhibitor administered orally as a monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors.
• A phase 1 open-label, dose-finding study to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of ONX 0801, a novel α-folate receptor-mediated thymidylate synthase inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumours.
• A phase 2, open-label test-retest study to assess the reproducibility of quantitative measurements of 18F uptake by solid tumours using pet imaging following intravenous administration of AH111585 (18F) injection.
• [¹⁸F]fluorothymidine-positron emission tomography (FLT-PET) and DCE/DW-MRI for early response monitoring in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).
• mEOC: A GCIG Intergroup multicentre trial of open label carboplatin and paclitaxel +/- bevacizumab compared with oxaliplatin and capecitabine +/- bevacizumab as first line chemotherapy  in patients with mucinous Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (mEOC).
• Randomised Phase III Trial of Paclitxel plus Carboplatin (TC) Therapy versus Irinotecan plus Cisplatin (CPT-P) Therapy as a First Line Chemotherapy for Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary.