Abstract

Advanced colorectal cancers are treated with first line chemotherapy combinations that have broad molecular effects within tumour and non-tumour cells. Despite a huge reliance on these therapies for colorectal and other cancers we do not fully understand how they work at the molecular level. Recent advances have highlighted a forgotten role for these compounds in RNA biology that needs revisiting. Consistent with RNA being an actionable vulnerability in colorectal cancer I have demonstrated multiple means to target RNA in preclinical models of the disease. Building on this, my group have developed innovative methods to define how current chemotherapies affect RNA biology in exquisite detail. With this knowledge we hope to identify what determines drug response in disease and design replacement targeted therapies drawing on advances in RNA -based pharmaceuticals.