NCRI Cancer Conference: Infections and cancer

November 10, 2009
Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of stomach cancer

Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of stomach cancer

Over the years, it’s become apparent that certain viruses, bacteria and parasites can cause cancer, as exemplified by the Human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is implicated in cervical cancer and now subject of the new vaccination programme for teenage girls in the UK.

What many people don’t realise is that nearly 20 per cent of all cancers worldwide (and around 8 per cent in the developed world) are thought to be linked to infections (although it’s important to stress that cancer itself cannot be passed on between people except under vanishingly rare circumstances)

But while it’s relatively easy to find out which viruses, bacteria or parasites cause a particular infection, it’s very difficult to pin down an infection as being linked to cancer because the usual rules don’t apply.

For starters, many thousands of people are often infected, but only a few will ever go on to develop cancer. And finding the infectious agent in a sample of the tumour isn’t enough either – how can scientists know whether it’s causing the cancer, or simply along for the ride?

There’s also the issue that it can take many years for cancer to develop – by which time the original infection that caused it may well have cleared up.

So clearly, pinning down exactly which infections are responsible for which cancers, and how they affect a person’s chances of developing that cancer, requires well-planned, thoughtful, long-term research.

In a breakout session on the first full day of the NCRI Cancer Conference, we heard about some great case-studies of cancer-causing infections, and about the scientists’ work to find out exactly how these infections cause cancer, and who’s most at risk.

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Home ‘prostate screening’ kits – are they reliable?

November 6, 2009

PSA testing - a complicated issueYou may have seen news this week that a batch of home test kits that allegedly screen for prostate cancer has been recalled, because they weren’t giving accurate results.

These test kits, like the ones that are available through GPs, are designed to measure the level of a protein called PSA in the blood. They’re meant to indicate whether a man needs further tests for prostate cancer or other prostate conditions. The test kits use a pin-prick of blood, can be bought on the internet and from pharmacies, and are designed to be done at home.

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NCRI Cancer Conference 2009: A new dawn – Monoclonal antibodies

November 6, 2009
An antibody

Monoclonal antibodies can be used to treat cancer

There are so many different types of cancer drugs coming into the clinic that it can sometimes be hard to keep up.  Among the most exciting additions in the last decade are monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)  – Herceptin and rituximab are two examples.

Rituximab was the first mAb to be licensed in the UK.  It has transformed the outlook for many people with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has just been approved for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.  But we still don’t fully understand how this and other mAbs work.

Cancer Research UK’s Professor Martin Glennie from the University of Southampton is an expert on antibody therapies. He gave a fascinating talk at the NCRI Cancer Conference on his latest research.  In this short video, Professor Glennie and Dr Juliet Gray talk about their work on a new antibody treatment for neuroblastoma – a form of childhood cancer.

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NCRI Cancer Conference 2009: Stopping cancer in its tracks

November 5, 2009
Cancer that has spread to the liver

A CT scan of cancer that has spread to the liver. Once cancer spreads, it is more difficult to treat

Cancer cells can invade their surrounding tissues and spread – or metastasise – to other parts of the body. Once this happens, cancer is much more difficult to successfully treat. In fact, it is estimated that around 9 out of 10 cancer deaths are due to cancer that has spread.

Recently, the advent of new, cutting-edge technologies has allowed scientists to make movies of tiny cancer cells in living tissues. This has flung open the door to studying metastasis by enabling scientists to ‘watch’ how tumours grow and spread. And it generated considerable excitement amongst delegates at the NCRI Cancer Conference this year.

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NCRI Cancer Conference 2009: Finding the ideal cancer drug

October 30, 2009

Professor Gerard Evan

The 2009 conference ended on a high note with an inspirational talk from Professor Gerard Evan, who has recently been appointed Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, where he’ll continue his cutting-edge work on studying cancer cells to find targets for new treatments.

In his talk, Professor Evan took the audience back to basics, pointing out that cancer cells “share certain common elements”. As he pointed out, despite the well-documented differences between people’s cancers, there are also similarities.

“If you could target those, you can target all cancers”, he added – leading neatly to the question “if you could target anything in a cancer cell, where would be the best place to target?”

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