Updates in Cancer Research

Thanks to a partnership between cancer researchers at Cambridge and Columbia Universities and the British Columbia Cancer Research Center (BCCRC), supported by the Canada-UK Foundation, we are one step closer to unlocking solutions for oesophageal cancer. Research conducted by Dr. Karol Nowicki-Osuch builds on Canadian technology in an unprecedented way. Dr Nowicki-Osuch, together with his collaborators from British Columbia Cancer Research Center and Cambridge University, spearheaded the implementation of single-cell DNA sequencing technology in the studies of oesophageal cancer.

Whilst at Cambridge University, Dr. Karol Nowicki-Osuch was in the second cohort of the Canada-UK Foundation Fellowship in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, conducted in partnership with Cambridge University.    In the research phase of his Fellowship, Dr Nowicki-Osuch worked with Columbia University in New York to undertake independent research.  

But what is the Canadian technology?  In 2019, BCCRC scientists developed a new approach to the analysis of cancer cells, and called it DLP+.   In the DLP+ method, the scientists take individual cancer samples, separate them into individual cells and perform genetic analysis of 1000s of cells simultaneously. In his previous research, Dr Nowicki-Osuch focused on studies of oesophageal cancer, a deadly cancer with a very low survival rate.   Dr Nowicki-Osuch took this Canadian-born technology (DLP+) to analyse samples collected in the UK hospital with unprecedented details. Dr Nowicki-Osuch said “DLP+ gives unparallel ability to understand cancer complexity.   Cancer  is composed of many individual cells   Historically, we were able to analyse only the average composition of cancer. We could deduce that specific subtypes of cells are present in cancer samples. However, because we looked at the average composition  we did not know how many individual components the cancer sample contained. DLP+ gives us a tremendous ability to sample individual components of cancer.

A key goal of the study was to further develop   the DLP+ technique by combining it with a technique, called mutREAD, which  Nowicki-Osuch had previously developed in the UK. This amalgamation of Canadian and British approaches will hopefully allow for much more cost-effect studies of tumour samples in a manner comparable to DLP+. The combination of mutREAD and DLP+ led to a patent application with a hope for future wider adoption of the method.

Soon, Dr Nowicki-Osuch with begin another step in his Canada-UK collaboration, and in his career. On July 1st, Dr Nowicki-Osuch will establish an independent research group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. His group will focus their effort on improving our understanding of gastric and oesophageal cancer origins with a particular focus on early detection of these conditions. DLP+ and mutREAD will play prominent roles in Dr Nowicki-Osuch’s future work. “I would like to thank the Canada-UK Foundation for their support. Without their generosity and guidance, I would not be able to take my cancer research to the next level” said Dr Nowicki-Osuch.