Dr Wenlong Li awarded Cancer Research UK ACED funding to uncover early detection biomarkers for pancreatic cancer
Based at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, Dr Wenlong Li from Giulia Biffi’s Group has been awarded £211,000 by Cancer Research UK International Alliance of Early Cancer Detection (ACED) to find novel biomarkers to detect pancreatic cancer at earlier stage.
Pancreatic cancer often goes undetected until it is in an advanced stage, making early diagnosis critical to improving patient survival. Hence, it is especially crucial to develop early detection screening strategies for high-risk individuals. One of risk factors of pancreatic cancer is chronic pancreatitis —a condition that shares many features with pancreatic cancer, including extensive fibrosis and high levels of fibroblast-derived extracellular matrix. Highly prevalent in both pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis, fibroblasts may provide potential targets for the development of novel cancer-specific biomarkers.
Using a multi-omics approach, Wenlong will characterise fibroblasts from murine and human samples of pancreatitis, pre-cancerous pancreatic lesions and pancreatic cancer. This could pinpoint unique features of fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer, which could serve as novel biomarkers for developing earlier detection strategies for high-risk individuals.