Internationally renowned for pioneering, multi-disciplinary research, the Thrombosis Research Institutes comprise two independent charitable foundations based in London, United Kingdom and Bangalore, India.

 

Research

Cancer and Thrombosis:

The main aim of this project is to undertake a proteomic approach* to investigating:

  • the mechanisms by which low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is able to have such a marked beneficial effect on the survival of cancer patients
  • whether improved forms of LMWH heparin can be developed

*Proteomics is the large scale study of proteins, particularly their structure and functions.

Meta analysis of the trials that established the superiority of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) over standard heparin for the treatment of thromboembolism in cancer patients also showed LMWH has a markedly better effect on overall mortality over the long term.

This finding was refined in a double blind trial that showed that beyond 17 months, those patients entering the study with a better prognosis, had their life span increased nearly two fold compared to a placebo treated group (Kakkar et al, 2004). Since then, the beneficial effect of LMWH upon patient survival has been confirmed by a number of other research groups.

These findings raise important questions. For, although heparin is a powerful anticoagulant, it can also affect cellular responses by acting as a molecular mimic of the heparin sulphate proteoglycans (HPSGs). HPSGs play a fundamental role in cell physiology since they modulate the activity of a wide range of biological effectors including cytokines and chemokines.

The experimental approach for this study is therefore based upon examining the pleiotrophic effect of heparin through proteomic analysis.

Research