PAWS-GIST Research Projects

Research Initiatives

Since the start of PAWS-GIST in 2010 our aim has always been to stimulate research for improved treatments and a cure. It has taken a while as we needed first of all to set up The National GIST Tissue Bank, The PAWS-GIST clinic and then locate some researchers willing to work with us. However, our dream is beginning to come true...

Below is a list of  PAWS-GIST research, much of which has been funded by donations and grants made to PAWS-GIST that are held by GIST Cancer UK.

It is only as a result of fundraising by family friends and supporters that this work can happen.

Thanks to everyone who has and continues to raise funds for PAWS-GIST, look at what you are helping us to achieve!

Wildtype SDH Deficient GIST in the UK; A review of clinical course, genetics, epigenetics and metabolomics.

Dr Ruth Casey

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Ruth Casey

Funding awarded by GCUK - £60,000

Project Duration - 3rd January 2017  to 31st December 2020.

Research outputs:

Dr Casey's research papers were published in PubMed as follows:

Next generation sequencing of WT GIST's to identify therapeutic targets.

Dr Newton Wong

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Newton Wong

Funding awarded by GCUK - £15,389

Project Duration - 1st July 2017 - June 2020

Research outputs:

June 2020 - Dr Wong’s research paper “Next generation sequencing demonstrates the rarity of short kinase variants specific to quadruple wild type gastrointestinal stromal tumours”. Was published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jclinpath-2020-206613

Derivation, maintenance and characterisation of cell lines from biopsies of PAWS-GIST.

Dr Karen Sisley

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Karen Sisley

Funding awarded by GCUK - £15,180

Project Duration - 1st August 2016 - ongoing

Research outputs: TBC

Research to investigate the potential of Gallium-68 (68Ga) DOTA-conjugated peptidePET/CT to develop theranostic applications in wild-type gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs).

Dr Ruth Casey

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Ruth Casey

Funding awarded by GCUK - £21,000

Project Duration - Starting in 2019

Research outputs: TBC

Investigating the utility of serum miRNA as a tumour biomarker to guide surveillance in patients with dSDH GIST and PPGL.

Dr Ruth Casey

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Ruth Casey

Funding awarded by GCUK from the PAWS-GIST Research fund- £76,886

Project Duration -  2020 - December 2023

Research outputs: Preferential MGMT hypermethylation in SDH-deficient wild-type GIST

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36198483/

 

Pilot Study - Altered RNA methylation in SDH deficient gastrointestinal stromal tumours

Dr Olivier Giger

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Olivier Giger

Funding awarded by GCUK - £7,000

Project Duration - March 2019 - September 2019

Research outputs: Preferential MGMT hypermethylation in SDH-deficient wild-type GIST

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36198483/

Metabolic alterations and vulnerabilities of succinate dehydrogenase-deficient GIST

Professor Eyal Gottlieb

Principal investigator (PI) - Professor Eyal Gottlieb

Funding awarded by GCUK - No Funding (Tissue supplied by National GIST Tissue Bank)

Project Duration - Commenced 2018

Research outputs: TBC

Investigating the potential of deuterium metabolic imaging in SDH-deficient GIST

Principal investigator (PI) - Dr Mary McLean

Funding awarded by GCUK - £20, 475

Project Duration - October 2023 - September 2025

Research outputs: TBC