Evaluation of the role of MxA and ISGylation in chemosensitivity in oesophageal cancer

Robert Hayes

Robert Hayes was awarded a MRCG-HRB Joint-funding scheme (PhD scholarship) in partnership with Breakthrough Cancer Research, in the laboratory of Dr. Sharon McKenna.

Many oesophageal cancers develop resistance to the drugs currently used to treat this disease. This allows the cancer cells to survive and the cancer can come back again at variable times after the initial treatment. Research already performed by this group has identified genetic differences between cancer cells that respond well to treatment and those that do not. This project will examine how the genes involved can re-program cancers and influence their response to treatment. We have already identified a novel gene pathway that can dramatically improve how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy. Understanding these novel genes and how they regulate death and survival in cancer cells will enable us to develop more specific anti-cancer agents for the future. The overall aim of this project is to identify new ways of targeting drug-resistant oesophageal cancers so that chemotherapeutic regimes can be improved and recurrent diseases eliminated in cancer patients.

Publications

Hayes RMO’Donovan TRMcKenna SLExpression of MxA in esophageal cancer cell lines can influence sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents but this does not require apoptosisCancer Med202413:e70173. doi:10.1002/cam4.70173

 

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Start year
2018
End year
2021
Principal Investigator
Dr. Sharon McKenna
Researcher
Robert Hayes
Institution
University College Cork
Cancer type
Oesophageal
Grant Funding
MRCG-HRB Joint-funding scheme in partnership with Breakthrough Cancer Research
Linked Breakthrough Research Priorities
1, 3, 4