Dr. Mark Ward

• LA Norris, F Abu Saadeh, M Ward, SA O'Toole, Z Marchocki, N. Ibrahim, N Gleeson, Development and validation of a risk model for prediction of venous thromboembolism in gynaecological cancer patients, Thrombosis Research, International Congress on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Issues in Cancer, Bergamo, April 2018, 164, (Supplement 1), Elsevier, 2018, ppS183 - S184Oral Presentation, 2018, DOI
• Z. Marchocki, N. Gleeson, F. Abu Saadeh, M.P. Ward, S.A. O'Toole, L.A. Norris, Fibrinogen, D-Dimers and thrombin generation assays as predictors of the risk of recurrent VTE in patients with gynaecological malignancies, Thrombosis Research, International Congress on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Issues in Cancer, Bergamo, April 2018, 164, (Supplement 1), 2018, pp200 - 200Meeting Abstract, 2018, DOI
• Jabakhanji, S.B., Boland, F., Ward, M., Biesma, R., Body Mass Index Changes in Early Childhood, Journal of Pediatrics, 202, 2018, p106 - 114Journal Article, 2018
• Useckaite Z, Ward MP, Trappe A, Reilly R, Lennon J, Davage H, Matallanas D, Cassidy H, Dillon ET, Brennan K, Doyle SL, Carter S, Donnelly S, Linnane B, McKone EF, McNally P, Coppinger JA., Increased extracellular vesicles mediate inflammatory signalling in cystic fibrosis., Thorax, 75, (6), 2020, p449-458Journal Article, 2020, DOI , TARA - Full Text
• O'Toole SA, Spillane C, Huang Y, Fitzgerald MC, Ffrench B, Mohamed B, Ward M, Gallagher M, Kelly T, O'Brien C, Ruttle C, Bogdanska A, Martin C, Mullen D, Connolly E, McGarrigle SA, Kennedy J, O'Leary JJ., Circulating tumour cell enumeration does not correlate with Miller-Payne grade in a cohort of breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy., Breast cancer research and treatment, 181, (3), 2020, p571-580Journal Article, 2020, DOI
• Kane, L.E., Ward, M.P., Norris, L.A et al., Platelets, immune cells and the coagulation cascade; friend or foe of the circulating tumour cell?, Molecular Cancer, 20, 2021, p59-Journal Article, 2021, DOI
• Ward MP, Spiers JP., Protein phosphatase 2A regulation of markers of extracellular matrix remodelling in hepatocellular carcinoma cells: functional consequences for tumour invasion., British journal of pharmacology, 174, (10), 2017, p1116-1130Journal Article, 2017, DOI
• Shields S, Conroy E, O'Grady T, McGoldrick A, Connor K, Ward MP, Useckaite Z, Dempsey E, Reilly R, Fan Y, Chubb A, Matallanas DG, Kay EW, O'Connor D, McCann A, Gallagher WM, Coppinger JA., BAG3 promotes tumour cell proliferation by regulating EGFR signal transduction pathways in triple negative breast cancer., Oncotarget, 9, (21), 2018, p15673-15690Journal Article, 2018, DOI
• Mark P. Ward, Extracellular vesicles in ovarian cancer-A role in venous thromboembolism?, Thrombosis Update, 3, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
• Spillane CD, Cooke NM, Ward MP, Kenny D, Blackshields G, Kelly T, Bates M, Huang Y, Martin C, Skehan S, Canney A, Gallagher M, Smyth P, Brady N, Clarke A, Mohamed B, Norris L, Brooks DA, Brooks RD, Heatlie JK, Selemidis S, Hanniffy S, Dixon E, Sheils O, O'Toole SA, O'Leary JJ., The induction of a mesenchymal phenotype by platelet cloaking of cancer cells is a universal phenomenon., Translational oncology, 14, (12), 2021, p101229Journal Article, 2021, DOI
• Sabol M, Calleja-Agius J, Di Fiore R, Suleiman S, Ozcan S, Ward MP, Ozreti" P., (In)Distinctive Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Common and Rare Ovarian Cancers., Cancers, 13, (20), 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
• Ward MP, Abu Saadeh, F, O'Toole S, Marchocki Z, Gleeson N, Norris LA, Optimisation of Thrombin Generation as a Predictive Biomarker for Venous Thromboembolism in Gynaecological Malignancies, Research Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Dublin, July 2018, 2018Poster, 2018, DOI
• Mark P Ward, Mark Bates, Bashir Mohamed, Tanya Kelly, Roisin O'Connor, Robert Brooks, Doug Brooks, Stavros Selemidis, Celine Ovaere, Jane Tully, Patrick Maguire, Catherine O'Gorman, Waseem Kamran, James Beirne, Feras Saadeh, Noreen Gleeson, Lucy Norris, Cara Martin, Sharon O'Toole, John O'Leary, Isolation and characterisation of circulating tumour cells from ovarian cancer patients, LABORATORY INVESTIGATION, March 2022, 102, (SUPPL 1), SPRINGER NATURE, 2022Poster, 2022, DOI
• Martini C, Logan JM, Sorvina A, Gordon C, Beck AR, S-Y Ung B, Caruso MC, Moore C, Hocking A, Johnson IRD, Li KL, Karageorgos L, Hopkins AM, Esterman AJ, Huzzell C, Brooks RD, Lazniewska J, Hickey SM, Bader C, Parkinson-Lawrence E, Weigert R, Sorich MJ, Tewari P, Martin C, O'Toole S, Bates M, Ward M, Mohammed B, Keegan H, Watson W, Prendergast S, Heffernan S, NiMhaolcatha S, O'Connor R, Malone V, Carter M, Ryan K, Brady N, Clarke A, Sokol F, Prabhakaran S, Stahl J, Klebe S, Samaratunga H, Delahunt B, Selemidis S, Moretti KL, Butler LM, O'Leary JJ, Brooks DA., Aberrant protein expression of Appl1, Sortilin and Syndecan-1 during the biological progression of prostate cancer., Pathology, 2022, pS0031-3025(22)00226-4Journal Article, 2022, DOI
• Jabakhanji, S.B., Boland, F., Ward, M., Biesma, R., Prevalence of early childhood obesity in Ireland: Differences over time, between sexes and across child growth criteria, Pediatric obesity, 17, (11), 2022Journal Article, 2022
• Mohamed BM, Ward MP, Bates M, Spillane CD, Kelly T, Martin C, Gallagher M, Heffernan S, Norris L, Kennedy J, Saadeh FA, Gleeson N, Brooks DA, Brooks RD, Selemidis S, O'Toole S, O'Leary JJ., Ex vivo expansion of circulating tumour cells (CTCs)., Scientific reports, 13, (1), 2023, p3704 - 3704Journal Article, 2023, DOI
• Ward MP, Ibrahim E, O'Toole S, Gleeson N, Abu Saadeh F, O'Donnell D, Norris LA, Thrombomodulin as a marker for VTE following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, Thrombosis Research, International Congress on Issues in Thrombosis in Cancer , Bergamo, Italy, May 2022, 213, ((6) Supplement 2), Elsevier, 2022, ppS13 - S14Conference Paper, 2022, URL
• Ward MP, O'Toole SA, Abu Saadeh F, Marchocki Z, Ibrahim EM, Martin F, Gleeon N, O'leary JJ, Norris LA, Mechanisms of cancer associated thrombosis in gynaecological cancer patients- tumour or treatment effect?, Research Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, London, July 2022, 6, (Supplement 2), Wiley, 2022, ppPB0752 - PB0752Conference Paper, 2022, URL
• Ward MP, Lochrin SE, Ovarere C, O'Gorman C, Kane LE, Mohamed BM, Bates M, Kelly TE, O'Connor R, Kennedy J, Cadoo K, Kamran W, Beirne J, Abu Saadeh F, Martin CM, Norris LA, O'Toole SA, O'leary JJ, Platelets and immune call cloaking of circulating tumour cells in breast and ovarian cancer, Research Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, London, July 2022, 6, ((supplement 2)), Wiley, 2022, ppPB0931 - PB0931Conference Paper, 2022, URL
• Lazniewska J, Li KL, Johnson IRD, Sorvina A, Logan JM, Martini C, Moore C, Ung BS, Karageorgos L, Hickey SM, Prabhakaran S, Heatlie JK, Brooks RD, Huzzell C, Warnock NI, Ward MP, Mohammed B, Tewari P, Martin C, O'Toole S, Edgerton LB, Bates M, Moretti P, Pitson SM, Selemidis S, Butler LM, O'Leary JJ, Brooks DA., Dynamic interplay between sortilin and syndecan-1 contributes to prostate cancer progression., Scientific reports, 13, (1), 2023, p13489Journal Article, 2023, DOI
• Kelly TE, Spillane CL, Ward MP, Hokamp K, Huang Y, Tewari P, Martin CM, Norris LA, Mohamed BM, Bates M, Brooks R, Selemidis S, Brooks DA, Kamran W, Saadeh FA, O'Toole SA, O'Leary JJ., Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 is associated with high-grade serous ovarian cancer metastasis and is reduced in patients who have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy., Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 11, 2023, p1150991Journal Article, 2023, DOI
• M Saini, Volga, Oner, Ezgi, Ward, Mark P., Hurley, Sinead, Henderson, Brian David, Lewis, Faye, Finn, Stephen P., Fitzmaurice, Gerard J., O'Leary, John J., O'Toole, Sharon, O'Driscoll, Lorraine, Gately, Kathy, A comparative study of circulating tumor cell isolation and enumeration technologies in lung cancer, Molecular Oncology, 2024Journal Article, 2024, DOI
• Lewis F, Beirne J, Henderson B, Norris L, Cadoo K, Kelly T, Martin C, Hurley S, Kanjuga M, O'Driscoll L, Gately K, Oner E, Saini V, Brooks D, Selemidis S, Kamran W, Haughey N, Maguire P, O'Gorman C, Saadeh FA, Ward MP, O'Leary JJ, O'Toole SA., Unravelling the biological and clinical challenges of circulating tumour cells in epithelial ovarian carcinoma., Cancer letters, 2024, p217279Journal Article, 2024
• Hindes MT, McElligott AM, Best OG, Ward MP, Selemidis S, Miles MA, Nturubika BD, Gregory PA, Anderson PH, Logan JM, Butler LM, Waugh DJ, O'Leary JJ, Hickey SM, Thurgood LA, Brooks DA., Metabolic reprogramming, malignant transformation and metastasis: Lessons from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and prostate cancer., Cancer letters, 611, 2025, p217441Journal Article, 2025, DOI , TARA - Full Text
• LEWIS, F., WARD, M. P., SAADEH, F. A., O'GORMAN, C., MAGUIRE, P. J., BEIRNE, J. P., KAMRAN, W., IBRAHIM, E., NORRIS, L., KELLY, T., HURLEY, S., HENDERSON, B., KANJUGA, M., O'DRISCOLL, L., GATELY, K., ONER, E., SAINI, V. M., CADOO, K., MARTIN, C., O'LEARY, J. J. & O'TOOLE, S. A., A pilot study evaluating the feasibility of enriching and detecting circulating tumour cells from peripheral and ovarian veins in rare epithelial ovarian carcinomas, European Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI
• Raftery NB, Elliott JA, Muldoon C, Ryan C, O'Brien M, Fagan O, Ward M, Donlon NE, Donohoe CL, Ravi N, Buckley M, Murphy T, Patchett S, O'Sullivan J, O'Toole D, Reynolds JV., Tackling Prevention and Early Diagnosis of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma through a National Barrett's Registry and Scientific Network., Annals of surgery, 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI
• Ciara SMc Nevin, Faye Lewis, C Gorman, Feras Abu Saadeh, John O"Leary, Lucy Norris, Mark P. Ward, Patrick Maguire, Scheryll Alken, Sinéad Hurley, Vicky Donachie, Sharon O"Toole, Karen A. Cadoo, 946 Clinical and histopathologic analysis of young onset ovarian cancer: a tertiary referral centre experience over 18 years, ESMO, 2024, ppA380.2 - A381, ppA380.2-A381Published Abstract, 2024, DOI
• Albasanz-García, Pablo, Ward, Mark P., Norris, Lucy A., Mechanisms of anticancer treatment-induced arterial and venous thrombosis., Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI
• Raftery NB, Ward M, Ravi N, Reynolds JV, Elliott JA, Donohoe CL., Modulation of the Tumour Microenvironment by HER2 in Oesophagogastric Adenocarcinoma: Implications for Tumour Progression, Therapeutic Resistance, and Clinicopathological Outcomes., Cancers, 17, (24), 2025, p3987Journal Article, 2025

• Mark P. Ward, Bashir M. Mohamed, Laura Kane, Mark Bates, Janina Berghoff, Cathy L. Spillane, Tanya Kelly, John Kennedy, Feras A. Saadeh, Karsten Hokamp, Noreen Gleeson, Orla Sheils, Cara Martin, Michael Gallagher, Sean Hannify, Eric P. Dixon, Sharon A. O'Toole and John J. O'Leary, Influence of platelets and neutrophils on circulating tumour cells, AACR Annual Meeting , Philadelphia, PA, 2020; April 27-28, 80, (16), American Association for Cancer Research, 2020Poster, URL

• Title

  Using liquid biopsy to better understand immunotherapy and antibody"drug conjugates in triple-negative breast cancer
  Summary

  Immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and antibody"drug conjugates (ADCs), has recently demonstrated clinical benefit in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, only a subset of patients respond, and reliable predictive biomarkers remain lacking. This project proposes the use of liquid biopsy components"circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA)"as minimally invasive biomarkers to stratify patients and predict response to immunotherapy.
  
  CTCs are viable tumour cells shed from primary and metastatic sites that provide real-time insight into tumour biology and metastatic potential. We will investigate PD-1/PD-L1 expression on CTCs and assess longitudinal changes in CTC enumeration during neoadjuvant and adjuvant immunotherapy. In parallel, we will evaluate ctDNA fragmentation patterns as surrogate markers of treatment response. Using established TNBC cell lines and ex vivo CTC cultures, we will further assess the efficacy of novel immunotherapies and ADCs in preclinical models.
  Funding Agency

  Trinity St James's Cancer Institute
• Title

  PINPOINT: PredIction aNd Prevention Of Venous Thrombosis durINg chemotherapy combining dynamic biomarker risk assessment, patient perspectives and health technology assessment.
  Summary

  Venous thromboembolism(VTE) is the leading cause of non cancer death in cancer patients. Patients are particularly at risk during chemotherapy where rates of up to 20% have been reported. Guidelines recommend primary prophylaxis with direct oral anticoagulants(DOACs) in intermediate/high risk patients undergoing chemotherapy following risk assessment with a validated risk score(Khorana score). However, the Khorana score performs poorly in lung, ovarian and gastric cancers and relies on a single assessment at the start of therapy.
  
  The development of VTE is a dynamic process which cannot be accurately represented by a single risk assessment. Our data suggests that markers of procoagulant activity are implicated in chemotherapy associated VTE and could be measured serially as predictive biomarkers. This may provide a more effective method of identifying patients at risk of VTE and facilitate targeted prophylaxis.
  
  Prophylaxis with DOACs carries a risk of bleeding hence decisions regarding prophylaxis should be shared between doctor and patient. However, studies have shown that cancer patients receive limited information about VTE risk and tools to aid decision making in this area are lacking. Cost is also a consideration for both the health service and the patient.
  
  In this study we will:
  measure procoagulant biomarker levels serially during chemotherapy as dynamic predictors of VTE.
  investigate the prothrombotic mechanisms involved in chemotherapy associated VTE.
  identify patient needs and priorities for shared decision making with regard to prophylaxis during chemotherapy
  perform a cost benefit analysis of biomarker screening and targeted VTE prophylaxis during chemotherapy
  
  This study aims is to develop dynamic predictive biomarkers for VTE during chemotherapy and to understand patient priorities with regard to VTE prevention during chemotherapy. Identification of high risk patients and increased understanding or patient priorities and costs will lead to effective shared decision between doctor and patient ultimately reducing the burden of VTE in cancer.
  Funding Agency

  Health Research Board
• Title

  Development of a Personalised Near Patient (PNP) Allogeneic NK-Cell Immunotherapy (PNPNKimunnoT) for Platinum Resistant High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.
  Summary

  High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) comprising cancers of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum, is the most common and aggressive form of epithelial ovarian cancer with a dismal 5-year survival rate of 28%. Unfortunately, even with surgery, cytotoxic, and maintenance therapies, most patients relapse, and some develop platinum-resistant disease resulting in a median survival of 12-15 months.
  
  Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial anti-cancer immune cells and their lower prevalence in ovarian tumours is associated with poorer prognosis. NK cell therapies are emerging as an adept alternative to T cell therapies and their lack of requirement for antigen specificity places them as excellent candidates for an off-the-shelf approach to cellular therapy. It is well established that HGSC exhibits a `cold" or `immune-excluded" phenotype and this can be influenced by their chemokine profiles. Engineering an NK cell therapy to home towards the chemokine profiles of HGSC tumours presents an opportunity to improve their infiltration of such tumours and offers a novel treatment option for HGSC patients with platinum-resistant disease.
  
  Using primary patient material together with cutting-edge molecular cell engineering and xenograft models we aim to develop novel tumour-informed, near-patient immunotherapeutic approaches through the following:
  
  1. Retrospectively characterise the NK cell receptor ligand (activation and inhibitory) and chemokine profiles of HGSC to inform NK cell therapy design.
  
  2. Prospectively characterise NK cell phenotypes and function in blood, and tumour and correlate to the soluble profiles detected in the retrospective screen.
  
  3. Generate highly cytotoxic NK cell therapy and engineer to home towards HGSC tumours, based on chemokine profile of platinum-resistant tumours.
  
  4. Evaluate engineered tumour homing engineered-NK therapy using an established platinum resistant orthotopic xenograft mouse model of HGSC.
  
  Ultimately, this study aims to improve treatment options for women with platinum resistant HGSC.
  Funding Agency

  HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme

Biochemistry and cell biology, Cancer,

• IACR Senior Investigator Award 2024

• European Association for Cancer Research Present
• The Irish Society for Gynaecological Oncology (ISGO) Present
• British Pharmacological Society (Full Member) Present