About
Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease, killing 7,000 people each year in the UK. There are currently no suitable markers for early diagnosis and current treatments are largely ineffective. Research carried out in the Division of Surgery and Oncology aims at understanding the causes of pancreatic cancer and finding treatments for this and other diseases of the pancreas.
Pancreatitis affects around 6,000 patients per year in the UK and leads to death in around 1 in 10 cases. Little is known about the mechanisms of the disease. Treatment is still in state of evolution and in particular little is known about modifying the disease in individuals affected with inherited pancreatitis. We are at the forefront of identifying the underlying mechanisms and developing new means of treatment for pancreatitis.
What is also worrying is the greatly increased risk of pancreatic cancer in those individuals that suffer from chronic pancreatitis. Just how pancreatic cancer is linked to chronic pancreatitis is also under detailed investigation by our research groups.