RACE for Life in Southampton is the largest single event of its kind in the country. On Sunday July 13, thousands of women will gather to raise money for Cancer Research UK. It will be a day of high emotion - loved ones remembered and survivors celebrated coming through the disease. There will be great sadness at the loss of so many and immense joy at what can be achieved when people unite for a common cause.

Comment

MANY of the cancer treatments used in Britain's hospitals come from work at the Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre in Southampton. But what goes on in the laboratories and how are the seemingly abstract discoveries turned into treatments for people with cancer?

■ Scientists at the Southampton unit are involved in two main types of research funded by large grants from research councils and the money you raise for Cancer Research UK.

■ Basic research looks at why cells become cancerous and how tumours start. This also involves understanding how our immune systems can be used to defend against the disease.

Scientists are currently working hard to develop cancer vaccines with the hope of one day being able to prevent the disease.

■ Translational research takes discoveries made in the laboratory into clinical settings. Southampton is famous for its clinical trials with new cancer treatments and with existing drugs used in different settings.

■ Southampton is at the head of a large network of clinical trials. Completely new treatments - some little more than biological interventions - are tested on small groups of cancer patients for the first time.

Other trials using hundreds of cancer patients test the effectiveness of existing drugs and more highly developed treatments.

Approved drugs are compared with one another and tested on different kinds of cancers to see how well they work.

■ Breakthroughs in the laboratory and in clinical trials can make the difference between life and death for cancer patients.

■ Cancer vaccines using DNA from tumours are currently being tested on people with cancer. Scientists hope that by introducing the DNA into the patients' bodies, their immune systems will recognise cancerous cells and prevent cancer returning after surgery.

■ Clinical trials have shown that high-grade breast tumours respond best to a combination of drugs. This discovery is crucial for more effective breast cancer treatment.

■ Research into the genetic causes of cancer has led to the discovery of a "breast cancer gene" for a small percentage of breast cancers. Identifying which women will develop the disease means treatment - and ultimately prevention - can be delivered swiftly.

■ A group of scientists at Southampton are studying how a group of white blood cells known as suppressor cells can inhibit our immune system's ability to recognise tumours.

■ They think removing these cells in a vaccine setting may help our immune system to detect a cancerous tumour.

This information is useful for inventing vaccines.

■ Southampton scientists have discovered that DNA vaccines delivered with a small electric shock give better responses.

■ Clinical trials in lymphoma have shown new types of antibody are an important part of treatment.

■ Scientists at Southampton are now under way with trials to use a new antibody to stimulate the immune system within the body.

■ A new type of drug is being developed at Southampton to alter which genes turn on and off in cancerous cells. This could be a very promising new treatment in the future.

4:32pm Wednesday 16th July 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login