Kidney Cancer Research

Our work

Our current work focuses on improving the diagnosis and risk stratification of tumours for patients with early-stage disease. We are also exploring treatment options for small renal tumours and the role of the immune system in kidney cancer.

Nephron Sparing Treatment (NEST) for small renal masses

• Chief Investigator: Maxine Tran
• Funding: NIHR.
• More details: NEST

Investigating the facilitators and barriers to the Implementation of renal Tumour Biopsy (IFIT-B)

• Chief Investigator: Maxine Tran
• Funding: NIHR
• More details: IFIT-B

MIBI-for Kidney

• Chief Investigator: Maxine Tran
• Funding (Pilot study): Royal College of Surgeons, St Peter's Trust, the Royal Free Charity
• Funding (Multi-centre study): NIHR.
• More details: MIBI-for Kidney

Characterisation of the biological markers of progression in renal cancer

• Chief Investigator: Maxine Tran
• Funding: Kidney Cancer UK, Facing Up 2 Kidney Cancer, the Nick Maude Memorial Fund.

Immunological markers of early kidney cancer progression

• MRC Clinical Training Fellowship: J Neves
• PhD supervisor: M Tran

CRUK International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED)

• Chief Investigator: Mark Emberton
• Funding: CRUK

Renal Cancer Tumouroids: New generation 3D in vitro models created from individual patients for testing drug responses

• Chief Investigator: Marilena Loizidou
• Funding: St Peter's Trust

National Cancer Imaging Translational Accelerator (NCITA)

• Chief Investigator: S Punwani
• Funding: CRUK

'P' tentacle

• Chief Investigator: D Stoyanov
• Funding: ESPRC

PearBio optimising 'organ-on-a-chip' technology via patient samples in detection and effective treatment of kidney cancer

• Chief Investigator: Maxine Tran
• Funding: Greater London Authority, MedCity's Collaborate to Innovate

Facilities

The multidisciplinary research team are based across world-class facilities at the UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Sciences and UCL Division of Infection and Immunity with links to NHS clinicians based at the Specialist Centre for Kidney Cancer, The Royal Free Hospital.

Tran Kidney Cancer Research Group

Selected publications

1. Aquilina J, Neves JB, El-Sheikh S, Tran-Dang MA … Tran MGB. Epitheloid Angiomyolipomas of the Kidney: Rare Renal Tumors Associated With Poor Prognoses. Urology. 2023 Apr 6;S0090-4295(23) 00265-0.
2. Zecchini V, Paupe V, Herranz-Montoya I … Bokea K, Baig Z, Samarajiwa S, Tran M, et al. Fumarate induces vesicular release of mtDNA to drive innate immunity. Nature. 2023 Mar;615(7952): 499-506.
3. Warren H, Kasivisvanathan V, Moore CM, Gurusamy K, Emberton M, Tran MGB, et al. Protocol for a MULTI-centre feasibility study to assess the use of 99mTc-sestaMIBI SPECT/CT in the diagnosis of kidney tumours (MULTI-MIBI study). BMJ Open. 2023 Jan 24;13(1): e067496.
4. Li R, Ferdinand JR, Loudon KW, Bowyer GS, Laidlaw S, Muyas F, Mamanova L, Tran MGB, et al. Mapping single-cell transcriptomes in the intra-tumoral and associated territories of kidney cancer. Cancer Cell. 2022 Dec 12;40(12):1583-1599.e10.
5. Nyga A, Stamati K, Redondo PA, Azimi T … Tran MGB, Emberton M, Loizidou M, Cheema U. Renal tumouroids: challenges of manufacturing 3D cultures from patient derived primary cells. J Cell Commun Signal 2022 Dec;16(4): 637-648.
6. Neves JB, Roberts K, Nguyen JS, El Sheikh S, Tran-Dang MA, Horsfield C, Tran MGB, et al. Defining the origin, evolution, and immune composition of SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma. iScience. 2022 Oct 17;25(11): 105389.
7. Valcarcel-Jimenez L, Rogerson C, Yong C, Schmidt C, Yang M, Cremades-Rodelgo M, Tran MGB, et al. HIRA loss transforms FH-deficient cells. Sci Adv. 2022 Oct 21;8(42): eabq8297.
8. Warren H, Boydell AR, Reza A, Pencharz D, Holman BF, El-Sheikh S, Tran MGB, et al. Use of 99m Tc-sestamibi SPECT/CT for indeterminate renal tumours: a pilot diagnostic accuracy study. BJU Int. 2022 Dec;130(6): 748-750.
9. Miller J, Campain N, Boydell AR, Warren H, Vito I, Neves J, Mumtaz F, Bex A, El-Shiekh S, Wagner T, and Tran MGB.'Case of the Month' from the Specialist Centre for Kidney Cancer, Royal Free London Hospital, UK: 99m Tc-sestamibi SPECT-CT to differentiate renal cell carcinoma from benign oncocytoma. BJU Int. 2022 Jan;129(1): 28-31.
10. Neves JB, Varley R, Agnesi S, Withington J, Rodrigues FB, Warren H, Yuminaga Y, Tran MGB, et al. Growth and renal function dynamics of renal oncocytomas in patients on active surveillance. BJU Int. 2021 Dec;128(6): 722-727.
11. Warren H, Neves JB and Tran MGB. Renal oncocytoma: landscape of diagnosis and management. BJU Int. 2021 Dec;128(6): 685-687.
12. Stauss HJ and Tran MGB. TCR Gene Therapy: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Directions. Cells. 2020 Dec 1;9(12): 2567.
13. Satish P, Kuusk T, Campain N, Abu-Ghanem Y, Neves J, Barod R, El-Sheikh S, Mumtaz F, Patki P, Tran M, et al. The European Association of Urology COVID Intermediate-priority Group is Poorly Predictive of Pathological High Risk Among Patients with Renal Tumours. Eur Urol 2021 Aug;80(2): 265-267.
14. D'Ettorre C, Stilli A, Dwyer G, Tran M, Stoyanov D. Autonomous pick-and-place using the dVRK. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2021 Jul;16(7): 1141-1149.
15. Kuusk T, Cullen D, Neves JB, Campain N, Barod R, Boleti E, El-Sheihk S … Tran MGB, Powles T, Bex A. Impact of the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic on a tertiary referral centre for kidney cancer. BJU Int 2021 Dec;128(6): 752-758.
16. Neves JB, Vanaclocha Saiz L, Abu-Ghanem Y, Marchetti M, Tran-Dang MA … Tran MGB, Bex A; RECUR consortium. Pattern, timing and predictors of recurrence after surgical resection of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. World J Urol 2021 Oct;39(10): 3823-3831.
17. Kuusk T, Neves JB, Tran M, Bex A. Radiomics to better characterize small renal masses. World J Urol. 2021 Aug;39(8): 2861-2868.
18. Burrows N, Bashford-Rogers RJM, Bhute VJ, Peñalver A, Ferdinand JR, Stewart BJ, Smith JEG, Tran MGB, et al. Dynamic regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α activity is essential for normal B cell development. Nat Immunol. 2020 Nov;21(11): 1408-1420.

Awards

NEST study wins Poster Award at the European Congress of Interventional Oncology, 2023