Genomic Insights into Cancer-associated Venous Thromboembolic disease (360G-Wellcome-225541_Z_22_Z)

Background People who have cancer are at significant risk of developing a venous thromboembolism (a blood clot) as a complication of their illness and this is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. However, the risk of cancer- associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) varies greatly between individuals due to a complex interplay between inherited and acquired risk factors. While anticoagulant therapy, which thins the blood, can reduce the chance of these blood clots occurring; there is an increased risk of bleeding associated with these medications. It is therefore important to identify which patients with cancer are at highest risk of VTE, so that preventative therapy can be selectively offered to those who have the greatest potential benefit to gain from it. Approach During my PhD fellowship I aim to explore the genetic basis of cancer-associated VTE. I plan to undertake an epidemiological approach to identify new genes which may be implicated in this important health problem, followed by a laboratory-based analysis to study the biological function of some of these genes. Expected Impact This work will hopefully contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cancer-associated VTE and help efforts to accurately risk-stratify and manage patients who may develop this condition.