Lay summary
Phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PCC/PGL) are closely related neuroendocrine tumours that produce catecholamines; adrenaline, noradrenaline and/or dopamine. Research is desperately needed to improve the understanding of PCC/PGL in Aotearoa/NZ and to advance our understanding of the biology of these tumours.
This research will study the epidemiology of PCC/PGL in Aotearoa/NZ to investigate the disparities between ethnicity and location, and the distribution of inherited susceptibility genes. Then, tumour biology will be investigated by combining genomics (analysis of genes within the tumour) and metabolomics (analysis of metabolites within the tumour). Combining genomics and metabolomics tells us which genes have been changed, and how those gene changes impact on the cell function.