This partnership involves cancer researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, alongside experts in cosmology and astrophysics from the University of Durham, and the techbio company Concr. Supported by Innovate UK, the project seeks to improve clinical decision-making by identifying and validating biomarkers for chemotherapy response, both with and without immunotherapy.

The study will leverage Concr's Bayesian computational frameworks, adapted from astrophysics, to analyse disparate oncology data sets. This innovative approach aims to link genomic data from the ICR's genomics facility with clinical data from breast cancer samples. By doing so, the collaboration intends to develop a platform for predicting drug responses in triple-negative breast cancer, moving beyond the current standard of care that relies on the physician's judgment based on clinical and pathology data.

Led Dr. Navita Somaiah (ICR/RMH), the project's goal is to discover new treatment avenues and identify genomic markers indicative of immunotherapy sensitivity, potentially guiding the selection of patients who would benefit most from such treatments. This project also offers strong convergence by blending cancer research with statistical techniques from cosmology.

More on this story