New approach to cancer treatment
Cancer treatment could be made more effective say Cancer Research UK
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By Adam Leveridge
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Saturday, 01, Aug 2009 09:31
A new approach to cancer treatment could radically increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy, a study has revealed.
Cancer Research UK says their scientists have identified a brand new approach to cancer treatment, which improves the stability of blood vessels in tumours.
Scientists from the Cancer Research UK-MRC Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology at the University of Oxford treated mice with certain drugs which were found to improve the stability of the tumour blood vessels. These vessels are usually badly developed as a result of the cancer.
It was discovered by improving the blood vessels, a greater concentration of oxygen was available inside the tumour, boosting their sensitivity to radiotherapy.
Professor Gillies McKenna, director of the Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology, said: "We are very excited to have uncovered this brand new approach to cancer treatment - where the drugs prime the cancer cells for radiotherapy.
"It's a counterintuitive technique because you might expect that by increasing an oxygen supply to tumour cells you would help them grow - but actually by oxygenating the cell with a better blood supply we enable radiotherapy and chemotherapy to do a better job of killing them."
Four drugs were tested, which are in clinical use or under development for cancer therapy. The drugs block a cell signalling pathway which is commonly activated in cancer cells.
Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer information, said: "For a long time scientists have been looking for ways to boost the oxygen supply to tumours to improve response to treatment and make radiotherapy even more effective.
"We still need to do more work on this technique but boosting the effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy are very exciting developments that hold real potential for use in patients."