Grant Success for Dr. Charles Rayner
As supporters of Oesophageal Surgeon Dr. Charles Rayner’ PhD looking into a new immunotherapy for oesophageal cancer, we are very pleased to hear that he has been successful in attaining a fellowship from The Mason Medical Research Trust [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”].
It’s great to get further external validation of the work he is doing from funding bodies and shows that we are taking the right approach.
The grant will be for £60,000 and will cover most of the costs associated with the second year of Dr. Charles Rayner’s PhD.
The Mason Medical Research Trust [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”] is a charity which was established in the 1930s to promote medical research and gives out grants and research fellowships as part of a competitive selection process.
– BACKGROUND INFORMATION –
Upregulation of Innate Immunity in the tumour microenvironment of Oesophageal Cancer using an oncolytic virus in combination with immunotherapy
Early detection of oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”] is low and five-year survival rates are around 15% due to the high proportion of patients presenting with metastatic disease.
Current outcomes using traditional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are extremely poor. But, immunotherapy has the potential to change that.
So far, there have been very good responses in other cancers such as melanoma, however little attention has been paid to oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”], leaving a large research gap with the potential for huge developments.
Dr. Charles Rayner’ project will look to improve our understanding of why immunotherapy has been disappointing in oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”], and how this can be improved. He will use cutting-edge imaging technology, the Vectra® Polaris™ [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”], to examine the tumour microenvironment of oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=”new-tab” wrap=”i”], specifically the immune cells found within the tumour. This will give a clearer picture of the microenvironment than ever seen before. The higher resolution of imaging from this state of the art machine will allow identification of new therapeutic targets. Charles will also aim to increase the immune cells infiltrating the tumour using a novel combination of oncolytic (“cancer killing”) virus and immunotherapy agents which are directly injected into the tumour.
Intratumoural immunotherapy represents an exciting new category of immunotherapy. As the agents are given directly into the tumour, they can be given at higher doses with fewer side effects and greater action.
Once the immune system is activated, it also has the potential to then mop up any other disease elsewhere in the body, simultaneously and due to its memory, in the future.
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![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.topicofcancer.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/dr_charles_rayner.jpg\")
Dr. Charles Rayner<\/small>[\/caption]\nAs supporters of Oesophageal Surgeon Dr. Charles Rayner’ PhD looking into a new immunotherapy for oesophageal cancer, we are very pleased to hear that he has been successful in attaining a fellowship from The Mason Medical Research Trust [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n”,”text_size”:”large”}},{“type”:”text”,”props”:{“margin”:”default”,”column_breakpoint”:”m”,”content”:”
It\u2019s great to get further external validation of the work he is doing from funding bodies and shows that we are taking the right approach.<\/p>\n
The grant will be for £60,000 and will cover most of the costs associated with the second year of Dr. Charles Rayner’s PhD.<\/p>\n
The Mason Medical Research Trust [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a> is a charity which was established in the 1930s to promote medical research and gives out grants and research fellowships as part of a competitive selection process.<\/p>“}}]}]}]},{“type”:”section”,”props”:{“style”:”secondary”,”width”:”default”,”vertical_align”:”middle”,”title_position”:”top-left”,”title_rotation”:”left”,”title_breakpoint”:”xl”,”image_position”:”center-center”},”children”:[{“type”:”row”,”children”:[{“type”:”column”,”props”:{“image_position”:”center-center”,”media_overlay_gradient”:””},”children”:[{“type”:”headline”,”props”:{“title_element”:”h6″,”content”:”\u2013 BACKGROUND INFORMATION \u2013″,”text_align”:”center”,”margin_remove_top”:true}},{“type”:”headline”,”props”:{“title_element”:”h3″,”content”:”Upregulation of Innate Immunity in the tumour microenvironment of Oesophageal Cancer using an oncolytic virus in combination with immunotherapy<\/strong>“}},{“type”:”text”,”props”:{“margin”:”default”,”column_breakpoint”:”m”,”content”:”Oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a> is the 7th most common cause of cancer death in the UK.”,”text_size”:”large”}},{“type”:”text”,”props”:{“margin”:”default”,”column_breakpoint”:”m”,”content”:”
Current outcomes using traditional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are extremely poor. But, immunotherapy has the potential to change that.<\/p>\n\n
So far, there have been very good responses in other cancers such as melanoma, however little attention has been paid to oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a>, leaving a large research gap with the potential for huge developments.<\/p>\n \n
Dr. Charles Rayner’ project will look to improve our understanding of why immunotherapy has been disappointing in oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a>, and how this can be improved. He will use cutting-edge imaging technology, the Vectra® Polaris™ [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a>, to examine the tumour microenvironment of oesophageal cancer [wp-svg-icons icon=\”new-tab\” wrap=\”i\”]<\/strong><\/a>, specifically the immune cells found within the tumour. This will give a clearer picture of the microenvironment than ever seen before. The higher resolution of imaging from this state of the art machine will allow identification of new therapeutic targets. Charles will also aim to increase the immune cells infiltrating the tumour using a novel combination of oncolytic (\u201ccancer killing\u201d) virus and immunotherapy agents which are directly injected into the tumour.<\/p>\n
Once the immune system is activated, it also has the potential to then mop up any other disease elsewhere in the body, simultaneously and due to its memory, in the future.<\/p>“}}]}]}]}],”version”:”2.1.1″} –>