2022-23 Innovation Fund Awards

Collaborating with Nordic Bioscience and researchers in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India to assess non-invasive collagen biomarkers in the detection of liver cell cancer.

Liver cirrhosis (severe scarring) creates an environment where cancer develops. Liver cell cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) is a major, and a rising, cause of deaths globally. When cancer develops, ‘minor collagens’, distinct proteins that are associated with scar tissue are released into circulation. 

Our Innovation Award will support Nottingham BRC researchers to work with Nordic Bioscience, who have developed novel biomarker tests, to measure these collagen fibre fragments in blood as an indicator of fibrosis and inflammation in the cancers. Collaborators in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India have collected samples and clinical information over time from people with cirrhosis including some of whom that have developed cancer. We will evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic capability of ‘minor collagen biomarker panel’.

If we confirm the accuracy of this panel in detecting early hepatocellular carcinoma, this award will set the foundation for  improving the diagnosis of liver cell cancer and effective monitoring of people with cirrhosis, globally.

Lead BRC researcher: Guru Aithal