Posted 2 years ago by Wales Gene Park
Anaplastic thyroid cancer has historically proven very difficult to research due to a combination of its rarity and the associated short survival period for those affected. In 2009, 2340 patients in the UK were diagnosed with thyroid cancer with 70-90 expected to be the anaplastic subtype 1,2. For these patients average life expectancy is in the range of 2-6 months with only a very small number surviving for more than one year. It is a highly aggressive form of cancer that is refractory to current treatment options. By collecting tissue and blood samples along with clinical data across the UK we will be able to accumulate numerically significant numbers of samples and data points which will facilitate research opportunities. Researchers will be encouraged to apply for access to the collected samples in order to try and establish the causal mechanisms for disease development, potential therapeutic targets and to relate clinical...