The Research Council funded several scientifically excellent researchers. Here are a few examples:
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Rogerio de Figuereido (pic) from the University of Turku aims to develop more effective immunotherapy for the treatment of melanoma. In the advanced stages of the disease, melanoma cells spread from the primary site via the bloodstream to distant organs. At that stage, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have become less effective options. Immunotherapy boosts the body’s natural defences to eliminate the cancer cells, but many melanoma patients develop mechanisms of resistance to this therapy. Melanoma cells may produce a factor called MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor), which turns off the body’s natural defences, impairing the effectiveness of immunotherapy. The aim of de Figuereido’s project is to validate MIF as a tool to identify patients that can respond to immunotherapy. For those that will not respond, the idea is to develop strategies that neutralise MIF to restore the body’s ability to kill cancer cells, unleashing the full power of immunotherapy for an increasing number of patients.
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List of funded researchers

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Congratulations Carlos! A great honour to make the front cover of next Months Journal of Pathology.  Check out article here Loss of BAP1 expression is associated with an immunosuppressive microenvironment in uveal melanoma, with implications for immunotherapy development.
Figueiredo CR, Kalirai H, Sacco JJ, Azevedo RA, Duckworth A, Slupsky JR, Coulson JM, Coupland SE.

The publication is a unique proposition for ophthalmologists, oncologists, oncological surgeons, radiotherapists and residents specializing in described topics.

‘The Authors are eminent and internationally recognized specialist in ophthalmic oncology; they are sharing their experience and multi-year experience with the readers. The aim of the book is to provide ophthalmologists and specialists in other branches of medical science with the latest updates in ocular oncology. All disease entities have been clearly presents and enriched with thorough diagnostic record and graphics’.
Professor Ewa Mrukwa-Kominek,, DM, PhD

‘This perfectly illustrated volume summarizes a complete overview of benign and malignant ocular tumors. The diagnostic modalities as well as the therapeutic options are clearly described. This textbook, edited in English and Polish, has a high didactic value and will become soon a major theoretical support for the management of intraocular tumors’.
Professor Leonidas Zografos,

Abstract:
Uveal melanoma (UM) is fatal in ~50% of patients as a result of disseminated disease. This study aims to externally validate the Liverpool Uveal Melanoma Prognosticator Online V3 (LUMPO3) to determine its reliability in predicting survival after treatment for choroidal melanoma when utilizing external data from other ocular oncology centers. Anonymized data of 1836 UM patients from seven international ocular oncology centers were analyzed with LUMPO3 to predict the 10-year survival for each patient in each external dataset. The analysts were masked to the patient outcomes. Model predictions were sent to an independent statistician to evaluate LUMPO3’s performance using discrimination and calibration methods. LUMPO3’s ability to discriminate between UM patients who died of metastatic UM and those who were still alive was fair-to-good, with C-statistics ranging from 0.64 to 0.85 at year 1. The pooled estimate for all external centers was 0.72 (95% confidence interval: 0.68 to 0.75). Agreement between observed and predicted survival probabilities was generally good given differences in case mix and survival rates between different centers. Despite the differences between the international cohorts of patients with primary UM, LUMPO3 is a valuable tool for predicting all-cause mortality in this disease when using data from external centers.  See full article bit.ly/37MRMCe
First author - Dr Alda Cunha Rola (picture)

​Figueiredo CR1,2, Kalirai H1, Sacco JJ1,3, Azevedo RA4, Duckworth A1, Slupsky JR1, Coulson JM5, Coupland SE1,6.

Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group wishes to thank all the supporters of Andrew’s JustGiving page who have raised over £3,400 - a fantastic amount for our research group. 
Two years ago Andrew was diagnosed with ocular melanoma a rare type of cancer found in the eye and sadly passed away on the 12th July 2019.
We are sincerely grateful for generous donations such as these from the friends and family of Andrew, which make a huge difference to the work we carry out into ocular tumours and fighting eye cancer.
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mel-strikes-back
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Left to right:
Front row - Manoj Parulekar (Birmingham); Noel Horgan (Dublin); Paul Cauchi (Glasgow); Victoria Cohen (London); Sarah Coupland (Liverpool)
Back row - Mandeep Sagoo (London); Heinrich Heimann (Liverpool); Bertil Damato (London/Oxford); Sachin Salvi (Sheffield) ​
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Professors Sarah Coupland and Heinrich Heimann were part of the Faculty of the symposium entitled “Recent Advances in Ocular Oncology” organised by Prof. Bertil Damato and held on May 22nd in Glasgow at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Conference in 2019.

Well done from all of us at LOORG Sarah - well deserved...

Category Winners - ​Significant contribution to specialty
Professor Sarah Coupland, University of Liverpool, Liverpool
Professor Coupland is an outstanding pre-eminent ocular pathologist in the UK and is internationally acclaimed for her work in ocular oncology. She has been instrumental to the care delivered to the world-recognised ocular oncology service in Liverpool through her pathology work, development of molecular and tumour signatures of ocular tumours, providing the evidence that informs treatments, prognosis and optimal patient care.
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