 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Snowdon 500 – A challenge for Prostate Cancer 16 May 2009
|
|
|
About The
Prostate Cancer Research Centre
"The
group is clearly doing the very best work on prostatic stem cells in
the world." US
National Institutes of Health The Prostate Cancer Research Centre (PCRC) is based
at the Institute of Urology at University College London. It has a
worldwide reputation for innovation and discovery in the field of
prostate cancer research. Under the leadership of Professor John
Masters the Research Centre employs 10 scientists and support staff
and needs £1.5M each year to fund its highly respected research
programme. Meeting the cost of carrying out that research is a
constant challenge. In order to make the breakthroughs that will
improve survival and save lives the Centre has to ensure that funds
are in place now and in the future. The PCRC is looking to build knowledge in the
following three key areas:
Current research
Prostate Cancer Stem Cells
Within every cancer there is a small number of stem
cells that are responsible for the growth and progression of the
cancer. If we can target and kill the cancer stem cells it may be
possible to increase survival and maybe even cure some cancers. The
goal is to develop prostate cancer stem cell therapy. The Research
Centre has been awarded two grants from the US National Institutes of
Health for its stem cell research – it is rare for such grants to be
given to scientists working outside the US. Prostate Cancer Invasion and Spread
While prostate cancer is restricted to the prostate
it can be cured with surgery or radiotherapy. Once it has spread
beyond the prostate, however, it is hard to treat. It is crucial for
PCRC to understand how and why the prostate cancer cells spread
in order to be able to design treatments to delay or prevent this
happening. One of the PCRC research teams has identified
mutations in a gene that helps to control cell movement. The team
believes that the cancer cells have hi-jacked this gene to help them
spread. Mutations have been found in nearly half of the cancers
restricted to the prostate, and to nearly all the ones that have
spread, suggesting that the mutations might be helping the cancer
cells spread. One of the mutations in this gene is very common and
might make a good target for therapy. The research team aims to find out how the mutations
alter the behaviour of the cells. One of the scientists describes it
thus: “Once we know precisely what the mutations do to the cells and
their migration, we can then start to develop drugs to attack the
cancer cells carrying a mutation to slow down or prevent spread”. Scientific research into cancer is getting ever
closer to finding life saving therapies and cures which will one day
conquer this terrible disease, but it is a long and expensive crusade.
The money raised by the Snowdon 500 Challenge event
will make an important contribution in helping the Prostate Cancer
Research Centre continue with it’s important programme of work. |
