St Paul's Eye Appeal

Research - Eye cancer

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One of the most exciting developments in eye treatment has been our work into eye cancers. Ocular melanoma is the most common form of cancer in the eye. It can spread quickly and sadly, leads to death in more than 50% of people affected by this disease because the tumour spreads to the liver and other parts of the body.

There are two types of ocular melanoma with one type being far more aggressive than the other. As very little is known about why the two types are different, our work has taken us to look at the molecular level, that is to identify the specific genes and proteins that act differently in the two types of the disease. By taking this approach we are beginning to understand the fundamental differences between the two types and examine the mechanisms by which these differences influence the progression of this cancer. Understanding these differences will not only provide insight on how best to treat the more aggressive form of this cancer, but also will have relevance for other cancers as well. Unless we understand the basic nature of these changes, we cannot target research and treatments more effectively towards the more hostile one.

Through our newly furnished Eye Molecular Biology Laboratory our study is based on a new technique, called DNA microarrays, that allows analysis in one go of thousands of genes displayed on a small piece of glass. Microarrays are of particular interest to cancer research since it is believed that the tumour behaviour is dictated by the action of whole sets of genes.

As St Paul's Eye Unit at the Royal Liverpool Hospital is only one of three centres in the UK specialising in the treatment of eye cancer, the new laboratory is in a very good position to expand the molecular biological studies of eye melanoma.

Despite the tremendous start to this study there is still plenty of work to do. Nevertheless, the determination of all the people involved in pursing this project is fuelled by the belief that the results will have a major impact on the development of new strategies for treatment of this cancer.