Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge joins European study of cancer ‘super survivors’

Addenbrooke’s Hospital will take a leading role in a study of cancer ‘super survivors’.

Designed to uncover why some cancer patients survive longer than others, the ROSALIND study is already under way in some parts of Europe.

Now Cambridge University Hospitals, which runs Addenbrooke’s, has been given approval by the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA) to join in the research, along with eight other UK oncology institutions.

They will attempt to decode the biological factors behind long-term cancer survival and unlock insights that could pave the way for more effective cancer treatments.

CUH consultant clinical oncologist, Dr Thankamma Ajithkumar, said: “With nearly 400,000 new cancer diagnoses annually in the UK, understanding why some patients achieve remarkable survival is critical.

“Patients who appear superficially similar in terms of their age and health, and the type and stage of their cancer, can have remarkably different responses to the same treatment.

“The ROSALIND study represents a promising new approach to investigating the biology of cancer survivors, aiming to uncover insights that could improve outcomes for all patients.”

The study will focus on three of the most aggressive cancer types: extensive stage small cell lung cancer, the brain cancer glioblastoma, and metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Researchers aim to gather tumour samples from more than 1,000 consenting patients who are known as super-survivors because they are among the top three per cent in terms of cancer survival.

French techbio company Cure51, which is heading up the study, will then analyse the samples to see if they help to discover novel therapeutic targets on which to base potentially transformative new treatments.

Nicolas Wolikow, CEO and co-founder of Cure51,said: “This is a pivotal step in the Rosalind study, as our first and largest partnership in the UK, advancing our mission to identify what sets cancer survivors apart.”

Dr Hattie Brooks, science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “This team wants to understand why some people with certain hard-to-treat types of cancer can live much longer than others.

“Understanding why treatments can affect people with the same type of cancer differently is important if we’re to develop more effective ways to beat it. This could ultimately allow doctors to develop new therapies that are more likely to work for people with these harder-to-treat cancers, who currently have fewer options.

“Studies like this are especially welcome in cancers that fewer people are surviving for at least 10 years. While this study is at an early stage, it could be an important step towards new ways to treat aggressive cancers.”

Any super-survivors interested in taking part in the UK arm of the study can contact the Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre at info@cancer.cam.ac.uk.

Read more about the trust’s Love Research campaign, supported and regularly featured in the Cambridge Independent, here and on the CUH website.