Exploiting the tumour secretome: does functional relevance yield predictive power?

A third of patients diagnosed with early stage bowel cancer and have their tumours removed will nevertheless relapse. We cannot predict whose tumours will return and whose won’t. Therefore, some patients will receive follow-up treatment (often chemotherapy) even though their cancer will never come back, and others who elect not to receive follow-up treatments may experience a relapse.

This research project is to understand whether we can predict whose cancer will relapse by analysing patient blood.