Research

1. Population & Prevention Sciences

The lack of cancer awareness translates in late presentation which results in poor survival outcome. The shortfall for the current registry includes the absence of mortality data hence the lack of survival data. This thematic area includes activities in cancer epidemiology, prevention and control. We are also planning a large multi-ethnic prospective cohort study in which we will enrol many individuals and collect detailed lifestyle information and biospecimens in search for risk factors and biological mechanisms to address gene-environment interaction in cancer etiology (molecular epidemiology).

2. Clinical Research

Clinical Trials forms part of clinical research. The clinical research will select emerging therapies and strategies to offer to patients as experimental alternatives to routine care. New drugs and new strategies developed by our academics and in collaboration with colleagues throughout the world will be tested. An area neglected in clinical research is cancer in HIV positive patients. HIV is an immune suppressive and current cancer therapies focus on immune activation. The HIV positive population is a significant part of newly diagnosed patients-both AIDS and non-AIDS defining malignancies. Our clinical cancer research effort pushes the envelope of early detection and treatment, personalized care, and immunotherapy and is key to achieving our mission of “Defeating Cancer Together”.

3. Translational Research

Translational research at PACRI facilitates the movement of new ideas and treatments from the laboratory to the clinic, as well as the movement of clinical observations from the clinic to the laboratory. The aim of PACRI is to advance the progress of research for the clinical benefit of our patients by fostering and expanding transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborative interactions among the PACRI academics and with external companies and institutions. This theme also brings together precision and convergence oncology. This area of research transcends disciplinary silos to create a genuine delivery continuum for cancer research “from bench to bedside to trench and back again.”

4. Immunology, Viral Infection and Inflammation

Tumorous cells utilise numerous pathways to either evade or suppress immune surveillance. Understanding the influence of the innate and adaptive immune response to attenuate or enhance carcinogenesis, immuno-editing by cancerous cells and the immune systems’ influence on contrasting outcomes to immunotherapy are key focal research areas targeted to ensure the arrestment and successful management of cancer. Oncogenic viruses, especially HPV and HIV, which are prevalent in the Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the developing field of oncolytic viruses in the mediation of the tumour microenvironment, are also important areas of research.

5. Health Disparities & Precision Oncology

Incidence and death rates, as well as treatment outcomes for various cancers, differ among people from different ethnic groups.  The key challenge in the development of effective personalized cancer treatment strategies is a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in these disparities.  Therefore, research to identify biological, genetic, and social conditions that may be associated with these health disparities is ongoing.

6. Biostatisics Core Facility

This core facility provides biostatistical collaboration and advice for all PACRI research projects, in the form of

• Design of experiments, clinical trials and other clinical studies

• Standard and innovative biostatistical analyses

• Statistical power calculation  and sample size determination

• Biostatistical requirements for grant applications

• Long-term collaborative research efforts

• Statistical interpretations for inclusion in manuscripts

The biostatistics Core Facility determines the level of biostatistical support needed.