Nicholas C. Turner
尼古拉斯·特纳
MD, PhD, FMedSci
Professor of Molecular Oncology, The Institute of Cancer Research; Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Royal Marsden Hospital伦敦癌症研究所分子肿瘤学教授；皇家马斯登医院肿瘤内科顾问
👥Biography 个人简介
Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, FMedSci is Professor of Molecular Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London. He is among the world's foremost experts on resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies in breast cancer, with landmark contributions to understanding CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy resistance through large-scale molecular profiling and liquid biopsy approaches. Dr. Turner led the translational analyses of the PALOMA-3 trial, identifying RB1 loss, ESR1 ligand-binding domain mutations, and CCNE1 amplification as key mechanisms of acquired resistance to palbociclib, work that has directly shaped subsequent drug development targeting post-CDK4/6 inhibitor disease. He has been a pioneer in the clinical use of circulating tumor DNA to track clonal evolution, detect actionable mutations, and guide therapy switching in metastatic breast cancer, and leads the PLACD study platform. Dr. Turner has also designed and led innovative adaptive platform trials including CAPItello and contributed to the SERENA program. He was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 2022, and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers. He serves on the editorial board of Cancer Cell and is a regular invited speaker at ASCO, ESMO, and AACR annual meetings.
🧪Research Fields 研究领域
🎓Key Contributions 主要贡献
RB1 Loss as a Key Mechanism of CDK4/6 Inhibitor Resistance
Led the translational substudy of PALOMA-3, identifying biallelic RB1 loss as one of the primary drivers of acquired resistance to palbociclib and fulvestrant, demonstrating that RB1 mutations arise de novo under CDK4/6 inhibitor pressure and predicting poor outcomes, thereby informing post-CDK4/6 inhibitor therapeutic strategies.
ESR1 Mutation Tracking by Liquid Biopsy in HR+ Breast Cancer
Established ESR1 LBD mutations as clinically actionable targets detectable in ctDNA, demonstrating that serial liquid biopsy can identify emergent ESR1 mutations weeks to months before clinical progression, enabling preemptive therapy switching and supporting the clinical development of oral SERDs for ESR1-mutant disease.
Clonal Evolution Under Endocrine and CDK4/6 Therapy
Performed whole-exome sequencing and serial ctDNA analyses of metastatic breast cancer samples to characterize parallel clonal evolution under therapeutic pressure, identifying convergent resistance mechanisms and polyclonal ESR1 mutation patterns that have implications for therapeutic sequencing and combination approaches.
Adaptive Platform Trials for Post-CDK4/6 Inhibitor Breast Cancer
Designed and contributes to adaptive platform trials including CAPItello-291 evaluating capivasertib (AKT inhibitor) plus fulvestrant in post-CDK4/6 inhibitor HR+/HER2- breast cancer, and the SERENA adaptive program, helping establish AKT pathway inhibition as a new standard in PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN-altered disease.
Representative Works 代表性著作
Genomic analysis of resistance mechanisms to palbociclib and fulvestrant in metastatic breast cancer (PALOMA-3)
Nature Medicine (2019)
Comprehensive ctDNA and tissue analysis of PALOMA-3 identifying RB1 loss, ESR1 mutations, and CCNE1 amplification as co-occurring resistance mechanisms to palbociclib/fulvestrant, with direct implications for post-CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment development.
Circulating tumor DNA analysis detects minimal residual disease and predicts aggressiveness in early breast cancer
Nature Medicine (2021)
Demonstrated that post-surgical ctDNA positivity strongly predicts metastatic relapse in early breast cancer, establishing minimal residual disease detection by liquid biopsy as a clinically relevant endpoint.
Capivasertib plus fulvestrant in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (CAPItello-291)
The Lancet (2023)
Phase III trial establishing capivasertib plus fulvestrant as a standard in PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN-altered HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer following aromatase inhibitor therapy, with FDA approval in 2023.
Polyclonal ESR1 mutations and acquired endocrine resistance in metastatic breast cancer
Cancer Discovery (2015)
Identified polyclonal acquisition of multiple distinct ESR1 LBD mutations under aromatase inhibitor pressure, demonstrating the complexity of endocrine resistance and the superiority of ctDNA versus tissue biopsy for resistance monitoring.
🏆Awards & Recognition 奖项与荣誉
📄Data Sources 数据来源
Last updated: 2026-04-06 | All information from publicly available academic sources
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