A groundbreaking new trial has begun to try to discover why chemotherapy works for some but doesn’t work for other sufferers of two of Scotland’s fastest rising cancers.
It is hoped the University of Aberdeen study will pave the way for personalised treatment for patients maximising its chances of success and preventing chemotherapy – with its severe side effects - being given when it won't work.
Charity Friends of ANCHOR has given the researchers £220,000 to use two pioneering technologies to study samples from patients with gullet (oesophageal) and stomach (gastric) cancers.
Dr Russell Petty, a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology and Consultant Medical Oncologist of the University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian, is leading the study.
He said: "Gullet and stomach cancers are the most rapidly rising cancers in Scotland – there has been a six fold increase in the last three decades and latest figures predict that this alarming rise is continuing.
"Currently there are approximately 1,000 new cases per year in Scotland and by 2020 it is estimated that there will be 1,600 new cases per year.
"Current treatment provides us with some success but improvements are needed. It is important that we undertake research now to enable improved treatment for patients with this disease."
Researchers are recruiting 42 patients from across the North East who face chemotherapy prior to surgery to remove their tumours.
Tumour biopsies will then be taken and scrutinised using a high tech imaging technique called Positron Emission Tomography or PET. These samples will also be studied using a Genechip machine which rapidly analyses all 35,000 genes in the human genome.
Patients will then undergo chemotherapy and two weeks later another biopsy will be taken and again the sample will be analysed using both techniques.
Dr Petty explained: "We hope this will enable us to predict whether or not the patient is going to respond to chemotherapy as only half will respond and benefit from the treatment which has a range of nasty side effects.
"If the patient is not going to respond it may be better for them to curtail the nine week course of chemotherapy and go straight to the surgery, or try different anti-cancer drugs or radiotherapy.
"This research will help us move towards personalised and optimised cancer therapy and, in the future, the results of this study may enable us to predict before treatment begins how a patient is likely to respond.
"This would enable clinicians to move directly to the treatment that is likely to be most effective
"We also hope our research will identify the reasons behind why some patients respond the way they do to chemotherapy and enable us to develop better anti-cancer drugs for the disease.
"This will be the first clinical trial of any cancer to combine state of the art imaging with the very latest gene analysis techniques and is therefore truly groundbreaking."
The new trial builds upon successful research into lung and colorectal cancers that has also been conducted by Dr Petty and supported by Friends of ANCHOR.
Dr Petty added: "It is absolutely tremendous that the Friends of ANCHOR are once again generously supporting leading cancer research in the North East of Scotland.
"This is vitally important work if patients are to benefit from scientific advances to provide them with the most effective cancer treatment. Support from the Friends of ANCHOR is invaluable."
To date the local charity has funded research projects at the University of Aberdeen amounting to almost £1M, and is committed to a further £0.5M over the next three year period.
Fiona Pearson, Fundraising manager, said: "On behalf of Friends of ANCHOR we are delighted to fund Dr Petty's new research study, which we know will be of significant importance in terms of helping people diagnosed with cancer in the future. Without the incredible support from the general public and the corporate sector we would not be able to fund crucial ground breaking research like this, therefore on behalf of the charity we would like to thank all our generous donors for their extremely valuable support."