Our Department has a strong academic background and we consider research to be crucial to developing new and better treatments for our patients with gynaecological cancer. We are actively involved in clinical trials and support extensive translational and clinical research activities.
In 2019 alone, funding of €1.75 million was granted to support a number of such activities. Professor Brennan is a group leader in Systems Biology Ireland. Our Group actively collaborates with basic scientists and clinicians both nationally and internationally and we are a member of the Science Foundation Ireland funded research cluster Precision Oncology Ireland.
In addition we have received funding from the Irish Cancer Society to support further research in survivorship and ovarian cancer immunology.
We actively recruit patients to clinical trials and are happy to refer patients to other institutions if they can gain access to a clinical trial.
Our clinical research focuses on surgical outcomes in gynaecological oncology and placenta accreta spectrum with a specific emphasis and on patient preferences and experiences. Some of our recent publications in this area include
Our translational research focuses on two major themes
2. Ovarian Cancer Immunology
We have a large research group based in Systems Biology Ireland co-led by Prof Brennan and Prof Walter Kolch focused on improving the effectiveness of immunotherapy in ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer has many characteristics suggesting that it should respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, however clinical trials to date have been negative, our research group is trying to understand why that happens and can we identify ways to reverse this inherent resistance to immunotherapy. We have an active collaboration with Astra Zeneca as outlined here and also actively collaborate with Prof Lydia Lynch (TCD/ Harvard), Prof Tracey Robson (RCSI) numerous other international collaborators.
Some of our recent publications in this area include
2. Understanding the molecular basis of obesity related carcinogenesis in the endometrium
Obesity is now a major carcinogen in the western world and is a major risk factor for endometrial cancer. Our research is based in the on the clinical observation that weight loss reduces endometrial cancer risk substantially and we use a combination of animal models and clinical trials to try to understand the underlying molecular mechanism. An improved understanding of this mechanism will help direct future public health initiatives focussed on weight loss as cancer preventative measure. We actively collaborate with numerous national investigators including Prof Carel leRoux, Prof Helen Heneghan and Prof Lydia Lynch (TCD/Harvard) and are members of an international collaborative group with a specific interest in this area which includes Prof Andreas Obermair (University of Queensland), Prof Jessica McAlpine (University of British Columbia) and Dr Shannon Westin (MD Anderson Cancer Centre.
Recent publications in this area include