Researcher Home Page : Dr Ian Cree

• Development of ATP-based chemosesensitivity assays
• Development of new chemotherapy regimens, particularly for ocular melanoma
• Trials of assay directed chemotherapy in ovarian cancer and melanoma
• The molecular basis of eye melanoma
• The role of new blood vessel formation in tumours and the eye

Recent Achievements

• Development of the ATP-based chemosensitivity assay.
• The demonstration that uveal melanoma is susceptible to chemotherapy
• Development of the combination of treosulfan + gemcitabine chemotherapy for metastatic uveal melanoma. This has also now proven to be active in a number of more common tumours, including breast and ovarian cancer.
• emonstration that loss of the TGFbeta pathway control of melanoma cell growth is a common event, and may be involved in the formation of the tumour.
• Demonstration of the role of angiogenic factors in uveal melanoma and in iris neovascularisation in these patients.

Our work is performed in the context of a collabortive research effort with a number of associated laboratories in Germany and the USA. Much of this work would have been impossible without their involvment.