Professor James D Brenton is a clinician scientist and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Professor of Ovarian Cancer Medicine in the Department of Oncology,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He is an Honorary Consultant in

Medical Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals, Ovarian Cancer Domain Lead for the

100,000 Genomes Project The 100,000 Genomes Project is a now-completed UK Government project managed by Genomics England that is sequencing whole genomes from National Health Service patients. The project is focusing on rare diseases, some common types of cancer, and ...

by Genomics England, and co-founder and Clinical Advisor to Inivata Ltd, a clinical cancer genomics company.

Education and career

Dr Brenton studied

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, graduating in 1988, and trained in Medical

Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto. He completed his PhD at the

Gurdon Institute The Gurdon Institute (officially the Wellcome/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute) is a research facility at the University of Cambridge, specialising in developmental biology and cancer biology. History The Institute was founded in 1989 to prov ...

before attaining a Senior Clinical Research Fellowship for his work at the

MRC Cancer Unit The Medical Research Council Cancer Unit was located in Cambridge and was established in 2001. It was based within the Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, which in turn is situated on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. History The MRC Cancer Unit was ...

. In 2007 he became a Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, leading the Functional Genomics of Ovarian Cancer laboratory.

Research

Brenton's research focuses on understanding the molecular complexity of

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

to improve treatment and patient outcome. His team discovered a ubiquitous TP53 mutation in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the most common form of ovarian cancer, which was adopted as a critical marker for diagnosing HGSOC by the

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

. Brenton used this TP53 discovery to develop personalised circulating tumour DNA assays to measure treatment response in ovarian cancer. In 2015, his team was the first to measure the tumour heterogeneity in a solid tumour and link this to cancer survival, finding that HGSOC was more deadly if it consisted of a patchwork of different groups of cells. In 2018, Brenton published the first national effort to investigate cancer evolution in HGSOC, discovering seven distinct genetic patterns that could predict disease behaviour in response to treatment. This led to the BriTROC-2 study, funded by

Ovarian Cancer Action Ovarian Cancer Action is a charity based in the United Kingdom that funds scientific research both nationally and internationally. Nationally, the organisation funds the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre, based in the Institute of Reproductive a ...

, to create new, personalised treatments for women with HGSOC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenton, James D. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Academics of the University of Cambridge British oncologists Ovarian cancer