40tude is proud to be funding a novel study which aims to develop a non-invasive test to improve the early diagnosis of cancer in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients.

Around 1 in 120 people in the UK have IBD, a chronic inflammatory condition. The risk of IBD patients going on to develop colon cancer is approximately double that of the unaffected population. 

This high lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is the main reason that IBD patients are enrolled in endoscopic surveillance to detect and treat early signs of cancer. However, the surveillance approach could be improved if there was a less-invasive way to predict which patients have the highest risk of developing colon cancer.

40tude is supporting a collaborative project between St. Mark’s Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research to identify and then clinically test the molecular biomarkers that accurately determine cancer risk in IBD patients.  The genius of this project stems from the leadership of two subject-matter experts: Professor Ailsa Hart, Consultant Gastroenterologist and world-renowned Director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research at St. Mark’s Hospital, and Professor Trevor Graham from the Institute of Cancer Research. Our funding is currently supporting the role of a dedicated clinical research fellow to progress this pioneering programme, which is called the ICAN Study.

We’re delighted that an initial study we helped to fund, of the genetic biomarkers in biopsy tissue, has made such good progress that the team are now looking at how to incorporate this into daily clinical practice. 40tude has also provided seed-funding for a similar pilot study which aims to confirm that biomarkers exist too in faecal and blood samples.  

More recently the ICAN team has been looking at how differing methods of endoscopic resection (in which a polyp or dysplasia is removed) reduced future cancer risk and has been comparing the chromosomes of patients with low grade dysplasia who have developed cancer with those who did not, in which there are some notable variations. 

“We have been looking at samples of polyps removed from patients with ulcerative colitis during regular endoscopy, and have now sent these for DNA sequencing,” explains Dr. Jennifer Fisher, ICAN Study Research Fellow.  “The bioinformatic analysis of the polyp and the surrounding tissue will help us to predict the likelihood of progression to cancer.  Being able to stratify this risk more accurately will help us to develop tailored pathways for those with IBD, for example identifying which patients would benefit most from endoscopic resection rather than surgery in the future.”

The research findings have shown more than 90% accuracy in predicting bowel cancer risk in the next five years using this genomic test in a high-risk group of people with IBD.  The next step could be developing a less invasive test, such as a blood test, which will inform doctors which IBD patients are most at risk of cancer and enable them to provide more personalised care, appropriate for their level of risk.

The aim of the ICAN Study is to create a more individualised approach for those with inflammatory bowel disease in managing their risk of developing colon cancer.  The development of a non-invasive test for early cancer detection could enable endoscopy to be targeted to only those people who need it most and avoid the need for surgical interventions such as colectomy for those who are identified to be at lower risk.  And as for all 40tude-funded projects, the goal of this vital research programme is for their outcomes to be incorporated into national and international guidelines, informing the future treatment of IBD patients across the world.

We're delighted that the significance of the ICAN Study has attracted national media attention, following publication on 30th January 2025 of an article by the research team in the highly-regarded GUT journal.  You can read more about this exciting development in the media reports here by The Times and Sky News. 
 
Thank you for the generous support of the 8C Capital Trust and all the 40tude community in helping to fund this potentially transformative research programme.

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