Dr Fieke Froeling - Molecular Subtypes and the Host in Pancreatic Cancer

Senior Clinical Lecturer in Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction

Fieke Froeling

Pancreatic cancer continues to be almost universally lethal and is predicted to soon become the second highest cause of cancer death. To date, there has been little improvement in overall outcomes, with very few effective therapies available. We do, however, see exceptional tumour responses occasionally, where patients derive significant benefits and have better outcomes. Thus, there is an urgent need to personalise our patient care and better identify the right treatment for each patient.

Most of the observations in pancreatic cancer biology can be explained through basic evolutionary principles: it is a complex cancer that is adaptive, highly capable to thrive in a resource constrained environment and uniquely able to evade anti-cancer therapy. But how do cancer cells optimise their fitness, at the expense of the host, to progress into this deadly cancer? And, what can we learn from studying the alterations in the tumour and its microenvironment in the context of its host system? These are central questions driving my research, using well-annotated patient samples in conjunction with patient-derived preclinical model systems to identify novel therapeutic approaches and candidate biomarkers that can be tested in clinical trials.

Clinically, I am an Honorary Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre treating patients with pancreatic cancer. The overall goal is to develop personalised therapeutic strategies that emanate from discoveries in both basic science and reverse translation from clinical observation.