Submitted by Cecilia Chan on Thu, 01/05/2025 - 12:34
Date: 23 June 2025, Monday
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Venue: Clifford Allbutt lecture theatre, Clifford Allbutt Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AH
Please register here.
Abstract:
Innovative strategies to enhance the primary and secondary prevention of women’s cancers are urgently needed. Traditional screening methods for breast, cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers often lack sensitivity, specificity, or broad accessibility. Moreover, tools to monitor the effectiveness of primary prevention measures are largely absent from current clinical practice.
Epigenetic biomarkers, particularly DNA methylation signatures, offer a promising solution. We have demonstrated that, when assessed in the tissue at risk or in easily accessible surrogate samples - such as cervical or buccal specimens - these markers provide stable yet dynamic indicators of cancer risk and early disease processes. The markers uniquely capture the combined effects of genetic predisposition, ageing, and environmental exposures, making them ideally suited for both risk prediction and early detection.
Critically, we have also provided proof of principle that DNA methylation markers can be used to monitor the impact of primary prevention strategies over time. This includes assessing the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions and pharmacological approaches, such as mifepristone for reducing the risk of lethal breast cancers. These biomarkers can offer real-time insights into whether preventive measures are successfully modifying an individual’s risk profile.
By integrating epigenetic innovations into personalized prevention strategies, our vision is to simplify screening, enable earlier and more tailored interventions, and ultimately reduce the global burden of women’s cancers through precise, proactive care.
Biography of Professor Martin Widschwendter
Martin trained in Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Austria and, in 2001, worked at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Los Angeles, focusing on translational epigenetics. He then spent three years leading a large breast cancer centre before moving to UCL/UCLH in 2005 for specialized training in gynaecological oncology.
As Head of Women’s Cancer at UCL’s EGA Institute for Women’s Health, he established a research group focusing on the role of epigenetics in early detection, risk prediction, and prevention of breast and gynaecological cancers. In 2016, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and in 2020, he became a Professor for Cancer Prevention and Screening and Director of the European Translational Oncology Prevention and Screening (EUTOPS) Institute at the University of Innsbruck. That same year, he was appointed Guest Professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
Martin has received funding for several major research programmes [EpiFemCare (FP7), FORECEE (H2020), BRCA-ERC (ERC Advanced Grant), and prevention studies (Land Tirol)] and has spun out a company (Sola Diagnostics GmbH) to ensure translation of research into clinical practice. Sola Diagnostics’ first product is an epigenetic-based early womb cancer detection test (the WID®-easy test).