Funded by CCLG and CCLG Special Named Funds, including Just George, Pass the Smile for Ben and Team Jake
Lead investigator: Dr Supriti Ghosh, The Institute of Cancer Research
Award: £14,997.00
Awarded January 2026
The challenge
Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue cancer in children and young people. Although outcomes have improved for some patients, others still face poor survival rates - especially when the disease spreads or returns. To help these children, we need better ways of monitoring the disease, detecting relapse earlier, and personalising treatment strategies.
One promising approach is the use of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) – small fragments of genetic material released by cancer cells into the bloodstream. By analysing ctDNA from a blood test, called a ‘liquid biopsy’, doctors could potentially monitor how a tumour is behaving without needing repeated scans or biopsies. This could help identify early signs of relapse or resistance to treatment.
The project
In this project, Dr Supriti Ghosh will use cutting edge techniques to examine ctDNA in blood samples from children with rhabdomyosarcoma. Her team at the Institute of Cancer Research will use a method called 6-letter sequencing from Biomodal to look at ‘epigenetic’ changes associated with cancer cell DNA. Epigenetic changes are chemical markers that build up on cancer DNA and change how the DNA is used, helping the cancer grow or survive. Looking at these markers will help the team identify the right pieces of DNA in the blood and potentially reveal new insights into how rhabdomyosarcoma DNA evolves over time.
The researchers will work on patient blood and tumour samples from VIVO biobank in their project. This will allow them to look for patterns of epigenetic markers that can help clearly identify rhabdomyosarcoma and to compare any ctDNA found in the blood with that of the original tumour. They will also be looking at whether any new changes appear in the blood as the disease progresses or relapses.
The impact
If successful, this work could support introduction of this approach for rhabdomyosarcoma patients taking part in an existing international clinical trial (FaR-RMS). This could lead to better monitoring tools that are less invasive, more precise, and better able to reflect rhabdomyosarcoma as it changes throughout the course of the disease.
This project is part of a collaboration with the VIVO Biobank, which offers researchers a chance to test early stage, innovative ideas. The collaboration pairs CCLG funding with the VIVO Biobank’s extensive collection of children and young people’s cancer samples to maximise impact and uncover vital new insights.