UCL research clinician receives Conquer Cancer Merit Award 2023

Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, Annual Meeting Merit Awards support students and trainees who are first authors on abstracts selected for presentation at the ASCO Annual Meeting. This year, Conquer Cancer will recognised 143 recipients with Merit Awards. These recipients are recognized for their respective field and research advancements within the cancer care community. The Marcia Mataldi Endowed Merit Award is supported by Bill and Karen Dahut

Research summary

In collaboration with the University of Birmingham, Dr Crolley and the research team have taken archived tissue samples from patients enrolled on the BILCAP* clinical trial with biliary tract cancer (gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma), and analysed those samples with:

• 1. targeted gene sequencing (identify mutations)
• 2. low-pass whole genome sequencing (to find copy number alterations)
• 3. RNA sequencing (to look at gene fusions)

The team explored which, if any, of the common or potentially targetable mutations affect either the risk of cancer recurring after surgery or the overall survival of patients. Findings show that most alterations have no significant effect, including FGFR2 fusions (which are new targets for treatments in biliary tract cancer). However, the team found that EGFR amplifications (increased copy numbers of EGFR) significantly decrease overall survival and progression free survival (i.e. the cancers are more likely to recur after surgery). FGFR3 fusions appear to reduce overall and progression free survival (although the total number of patients with this alteration was low), and there is an indication that MET amplifications might reduce overall and progression free survival in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, but increase overall survival and progression free survival in gallbladder cancer. These findings are novel -  this tumour type with this level of integrated clinical and genomic data has not been looked at previously. 

* BILCAP enrolled patients from 2006-2014. A phase III clinical trial comparing adjuvant capecitabine with observation after resection of early-stage biliary tract cancer, BILCAP found that adjuvant capecitabine was effective, so it is now standard of care.

Having previously won an ASCO Meeting Merit Award in 2021, Dr Crolley is one of a limited group of people who have received this award twice for achievements in advancing cancer research. 

Further information

• Dr Valerie Crolley academic profile
• Conquer Cancer announces 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting Merit Award Recipients
• Conquer Cancer Merit Award
• University of Birmingham BILCAP trial
• Oncology Learning Network: Potentially Targetable Mutations Among Patients With Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma, Dr Valerie Crolley MBBS MRCP