Home| Professor of Cancer Genetics |
Contact details:
| Tel: | +44 20 7882 2590 |
| Fax: | +44 20 7882 2200 |
| Email: | a.r.silver@qmul.ac.uk |
| Address: | Academic Surgical Unit, |
Biography
Previous posts
1983-1987 Post-doctoral Scientist (Grade 2), MRC Radiobiology Unit.
1987-1990 Post-doctoral Scientist (promoted to Grade 1), MRC Radiobiology Unit.
1991-1995 Senior Scientific Officer, Radiation Effects Department, NRPB.
1995-2003 Principal Scientific Officer and Group Leader, Tumour Biology and Genetics Group, Radiation Effects Department, NRPB.
2003-2006 Head of Colorectal Cancer Genetics and Group Leader for Bobby Laboratory, Cancer Research UK Colorectal Cancer Unit, St Mark's Hospital.
Honorary Academic Appointments
Visiting Research fellow, Brunel University (1997-2001).
Visiting Research Fellow, Bristol University (2001-2004).
Hon Senior Lecturer, Imperial College , University of London (2004-2006).
Hon Professor, Queen Mary College , University of London (2006-present).
Research Activity
The Colorectal Cancer Genetics Group focuses its translational research activity on individualising treatment and surveillance protocols for patients with colorectal cancer, including:
• Predicting chemoradiosensitivity in rectal cancer.
Preoperative chemo/radiation therapy has a central role in rectal cancer treatment. Some cancers show a good response to therapy, but a sizable number does not respond. We aim to develop tests that identify patients least likely to benefit from preoperative therapy and which provide directions to novel targeted therapies.
• Identifying those colorectal cancer patients refractory to drug treatment
Patients with advanced staged colorectal cancer are treated with chemotherapy, but a significant proportion will have a cancer that is partly or completely resistant. Currently, the benefit of the drug cannot be predicted. We are analyzing colorectal cancers to identify markers for treatment management that permits so-called tailored therapy.
• Identifying patients with ulcerative colitis likely to develop colorectal cancer
Patients with longstanding colitis have an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Through collaborations with UC patient surveillance centres in UK hospitals we are developing biomarkers for the early detection of neoplastic conversion and cancer.
Key Publications
• Mcdonald S, Silver A. (2009). On target? Strategies and progress in developing therapies for colorectal cancer targeted against WNT signalling. Colorectal Diseases. Dec 8th.
• Mcdonald S, Silver A. (2009). Wnt5a: opposing roles in cancer. British J. Cancer, 101:209-14.
• Howarth K, Ranta S, Winter E, Teixeira A, Schaschl H, Harvey J, Rowan A, Jones A, Spain S, Clark S, Guenther T, Stewart A, Silver A, Tomlinson I. (2009). A mitotic recombination map proximal to the APC locus on chromosome 5q and assessment of influences of colorectal cancer risk. BMC Med Genet 10:54.
• Rasheed S, Harris AL, Tekkis PP, Turley H, Silver A, McDonald PJ, Talbot IC, Glynne-Jones R, Northover JMA, Guenther T. (2009). Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha and -2alpha are expressed in most rectal cancers but only Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 is associated with prognosis. British J. Cancer, 100:1666-73.
• Robinson J, Lai C, Martin A, Nye E, Tomlinson I, Silver A. (2009). Oral rapamycin reduces tumour burden and vascularisation in Lkb1+/- mice. J Pathol, 219:35-40.
• Vickaryous N, Polanco-Echeverry G, Morrow S, Suraweera N, Thomas H, Tomlinson I, Silver A. (2008). Smooth-muscle myosin mutations in hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer syndrome. British J. Cancer. 99:1726-8.
• Segditas S, Sieber O, Deheragoda M, East P, Rowan A, Jeffery R, Nye E, Clarke S, Spencer-Dene B, Stamp G, Poulsom R, Suraweera N, Silver A, Ilyas M, Tomlinson I. (2008). Putative direct and indirect Wnt targets identified through consistent gene expression changes in APC-mutant intestinal adenomas from humans and mice. Hum Mol Genet. 17:3864-75.
• Sengupta N, Gill KA, MacFie T, C. Lai, Suraweera N, Mcdonald S, Silver A. (2008). Management of colorectal cancer: a role for genetics in prevention and treatment? Pathology Research and Practice 204:469-77.
