ONCOLOGY


All cancers produce markers in the blood, so it could be feasible to develop a general screening test for many different forms of the disease.


is at a really exciting stage and we are looking forward to seeing the results from the next step.” Professor Nic Jones, Cancer Research UK’s chief scientist, said: “These early results show promise that one day a blood test could be used to diagnose these cancers. This research is the first step towards a potential test which would be very exciting, but more work needs to be done before we see this in the clinic. “Making sure that the diagnosis and


treatment of children’s cancers is much kinder in the future is urgently needed. Survival from childhood cancers has climbed to 8 in 10 in recent decades – we must continue to push the pace in this area. We need to make sure even more children survive, and there are fewer side effects from their treatment.”


Advancing drug research Scientists have also found a possible way to halt one of the most common faults in many types of cancer, according to research presented at the Conference. A team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Germany has uncovered a new strategy and new potential drug to target an important signalling protein in cells called Ras, which is faulty in a third of cancers. When the Ras protein travels from the


centre of a cell to the cell membrane, it becomes ‘switched on’ and sends signals which tell cells to grow and divide. Faulty versions of this protein cause too many of these signals to be produced – leading to cancer. Scientists have been attempting for


decades to target Ras, but with little success. The reason the protein is so difficult to target is because it lacks an obvious spot on its surface that potential drug molecules can fit into in order to switch it off, like a key closing a lock. But now the researchers have shown that instead of directly targeting the faulty protein itself they can stop it moving to


the surface of the cell by blocking another protein which transports Ras – preventing it from triggering cancer in the first place. By targeting a link in the chain reaction that switches on the Ras protein, the scientists have opened opportunities to develop new treatments in the future. Dr Herbert Waldmann at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, said: “We’ve been scratching our heads for decades to find a solution to one of the oldest conundrums in cancer research and we’re excited to discover that it’s actually possible to completely bypass this cancer-causing protein, rather than attack it directly. “We’re making new improvements on compounds for potential drugs, although the challenge still lies in developing a treatment that exploits this discovery without ruining the workings of healthy cells.” Professor Matt Seymour, NCRI’s


clinical research director, said: “This is an exciting approach to targeting one of the most common faults in cancer, which could lead to a new way of treating the disease. The research is still at a very early stage and it will be years before it can benefit patients but it is a key step forward in the field.”


Lung cancer Cancer Research UK scientists also revealed that they have found a drug combination that can trigger the self- destruct process in lung cancer cells – paving the way for new treatments. When healthy cells are no longer useful they initiate a chain of events culminating in self destruction. But cancer cells swerve away from this suicide path and become immortal. This means that cells grow out of control – causing tumours to form. The Cancer Research UK team, based at the UCL Cancer Institute, has successfully fixed this fault in lung cancer cells – reprogramming the cells to self- destruct. Using lung cancer cells and mice the scientists showed that the combination of two drugs, called TRAIL and SNS-032, altered the molecular switches in the cell suicide process – forcing the cancer cells to self-destruct. Lead researcher, Cancer Research UK scientist Professor Henning Walczak from the UCL Cancer Institute, said: “Igniting the fuse that causes lung cancer cells to self-destruct could pave the way to a completely new treatment approach – and leave healthy cells unharmed. “The next step of our work will see


APRIL 2015 About the NCRI


The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference took place at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool, showcasing the latest basic, translational and clinical cancer research – including the latest developments in the diagnosis of cancer and promising new treatments. The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a UK-wide partnership between the government, charity and industry. Its role is to promote cooperation in cancer research. NCRI Partners are: the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Breakthrough Breast Cancer; Breast Cancer Campaign; Cancer Research UK; Children with Cancer UK; Department of Health; Economic and Social Research Council; Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Macmillan Cancer Support; Marie Curie Cancer Care; Medical Research Council; Northern Ireland Health and Social Care (Research & Development Office); Prostate Cancer UK; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (Chief Scientist Office); Tenovus; Welsh Government (National Institute for Social Care and Health Research); Worldwide Cancer Research (formerly the Association for International Cancer Research); Wellcome Trust; and Yorkshire Cancer Research. For more information visit


www.ncri.org.uk To access the full abstracts from the 2014 conference, visit: http://conference.ncri.org.uk


how this approach works in other cancer types, and we hope it could ultimately lead to testing this technique in trials to see if it can help patients.”


Nell Barrie, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “This important research builds on the progress we’ve made to understand the routes cancer cells use to stay alive. Understanding and targeting these processes will move us closer to our goal of three out of four people beating cancer within the next 20 years. “There’s an urgent need to save more


lives from lung cancer and we hope these findings will one day lead to effective new treatments to help lung cancer patients and potentially those with other cancer types too.”


✚ THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL 33


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68