Experimental and Precision Cancer Medicine

The Manchester Experimental Cancer Medicine Team (ECMT) is based at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and is closely linked to the MCRC, the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester Biomedical research centre. The ECMT has a large portfolio of early phase clinical trials including “first-in-human” and “first-in-combination” studies across all major solid tumour types. Our ambition is to offer cancer patients from Greater Manchester and beyond more clinical trial options, with the aspiration to provide patients with the opportunity to receive tomorrow’s treatments today.

The flagship TARGET study (Tumour chARacterisation to Guide Experimental Targeted therapy) is an academic precision medicine study developed in Manchester and conducted in the ECMT. The TARGET study makes use of Manchester’s expertise in liquid biopsies to collect a simple blood draw from cancer patients to help match them to the right trial and the right treatment. Results from this study are very promising and have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine. Researchers from the ECMT have now secured a partnership with a global pharma company to roll out this study nationally, which will significantly increase genomic profiling in the UK.

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) is instrumental in ensuring that patient’s needs are at the forefront of any research. This is why researchers in Manchester are proactively seeking input from patients at early stages of the study design to obtain patient’s perspective which is translated into better outcomes for patients.

Another field of active research in Manchester is drug repurposing. Some patients stand a good chance of benefiting from receiving a particular targeted therapy, however they are unable to access this treatment because it may not be available for the patient’s tumour type or for their particular age bracket.

Researchers are now working on developing a clinical trial to enable cancer patients who would otherwise have run out of treatment options to access certain targeted therapies, where they have the specific genetic mutation that particular drug targets. This clinical trial will have a particular focus on teenagers and children with rare tumours who are often underrepresented in research.