Dr Sarah Coupland

Pathology Department
University of Liverpool
Liverpool

Understanding melanoma of the eye

Dr Sarah Coupland specialises in uveal melanoma – a rare type of cancer that starts in the eye. She and her team at the University of Liverpool are investigating the gene faults that can lead to uveal melanoma, with the aim of developing more effective treatments in the future.

There are more than 200 cases of uveal melanoma in England and Wales each year. In some cases the cancer spreads to the liver, and once this happens it is very difficult to treat successfully.

Researchers have found that certain genetic faults are found in uveal melanomas that have spread. But there are also cases of spreading uveal melanoma that don’t appear to have these faults. Dr Coupland is using cutting-edge techniques to study these tumours in great detail, searching for the specific faults that are causing them to spread.

As well as hunting for faults linked to the disease, Dr Coupland and her team are studying the effects of these faults in uveal melanoma cells growing in the lab.

Through her work, Dr Coupland hopes to understand more about this rare and challenging cancer. In the future, her findings could help doctors to make more accurate decisions about how best to treat patients, and may even lead to new treatments for uveal melanoma.