Cancer Institute Seminar Series - Prof Maria Hawkins

During the last decade, despite several advances in techniques of radiotherapy planning (intensity modulated radiotherapy), tumour imaging (PET, MRI); radiation delivery (rotational arc therapy) the radiotherapy treatments in oesophageal cancers have remained unchanged. Chemoradiation remains the main treatment for inoperable patients and the outcomes have not improved. There is great complexity in the mechanisms that cause local failure to radiation and several aspects co-exist: lack of biological biomarkers for tumour stratification, inadequate radiation dose, hypoxia, and tumour microenvironment.

A major challenge for the field is to develop approaches that identify specific biological and functional characteristics of tumours and normal tissues that permit selection of best radiation dose, fractionation combinations with biology personalized systemic treatment.  We have shown, in silico, that dose escalation is possible and particle beam therapy has the potential to significantly reduce the dose to the heart and lung.  Also radiation-sensitizing agents to exploit tumour specific opportunities such as biological based therapeutics inhibiting DNA damage response pathways in tumours with specific DDR deficiencies are currently tested in combination with radiation in oesophageal cancer. So what could be the next steps to personalise radiotherapy in oesophageal cancer?

Prof Maria Hawkins academic profile 

A light lunch will be served after the seminar. This seminar has been sponsored in part by the Biomedical Research Centre and Cancer Research UK