Current Projects

The NET Tumour Bank

We set up our tumour bank in 2010 with a charitable donation and PLANETS has supported it since 2011. We now have the largest bank of fresh frozen NET tumour samples in the UK and one of the largest in the world. This is an incredible resource of tumour material that we are now developing plans to use for genetic research in collaboration with Mr Alex Mirnezami from the Southampton University and Dr Chrissie Thirlwell. PLANETS are planning to fund the appointment of a full time lab based research technician to start this work, in conjunction with Ipsen the pharmaceutical company that developed and make Lanreotide. We are also looking at ways of detecting cancer cells as they start to spread in the circulation

The Pancreatic Tumour Bank

Following on from the success of the NET tumour bank, PLANETS  is now supporting the pancreatic tumour bank. We are currently in discussions with surgeons and researchers from the other major pancreatic cancer centres at Bart’s, Oxford, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle into how we can join a collaborative research project that will look at mapping the genetic triggers for pancreatic cancer. This project has been funded nationally by the pancreatic cancer fund charity and supported locally by PLANETS who will provide funding for the lab based costs in Southampton. This is an amazing opportunity to be involved with some of the most important research in this field world wide.

Clinical assessment of the Delcath PHP Chemosaturation technique in patients with inoperable liver cancers

This isolates the liver from the rest of the circulation and soaks it in high dose chemotherapy before filtering the drugs from the blood and returning it to the circulation. We are the only centre in the UK using and evaluating this technique and one of fewer than 10 centres worldwide experienced in this highly complex treatment.