|  |  |  | | | | BREAKING THE VICIOUS CANCER CIRCLE | | | | |
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Release Date: 12th February 2002
British scientists have discovered crucial details about the way a cancer called myeloma causes destruction of bone and painful bone fractures in patients with this disease. The Leukaemia Research Fund scientists from Oxford believe they have identified a protein called Rank ligand (RL) which sabotages the molecules controlling bone regeneration.
Their discovery could eventually enable the production of drugs to stop the rogue cancer cells from causing this problem, which significantly affects the quality of life of patients with myeloma.
"We are very excited about this finding," says Dr Peter Croucher, who leads the work at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford. Myeloma - which affects 3,000 people in the UK each year - is an extremely difficult form of cancer to treat. One problem is the complex relationship between the cancer cells and normal bone cells, which allows the disease to progress. We are at last beginning to understand this process.
"Although there is no immediate clinical application, Rank ligand is clearly a potential target for future myeloma treatments," he adds.
We may think that our bones never change throughout our life, they are in fact constantly being reshaped and remodelled. Two special cells - osteoblasts that create new bone, and osteoclasts that remove bone - regulate our bones.
Myeloma cells can upset this fine balance. They encourage osteoclasts to destroy bone and prevent osteoblasts from rebuilding bone as they would normally in a healthy person.
Dr Croucher believes that RL - a protein that is secreted by the myeloma cell - attracts osteoclasts and stimulates proliferation of these bone-destroying cells. The results of his work were published in a recent edition of the journal Blood (see notes for editors).
Today's grant of £900,000 from the Leukaemia Research Fund (LRF), means that Dr Croucher and Professor Graham Russell can push forward with their pioneering work. They will be looking at possible ways of inhibiting the action of Rank ligand in myeloma patients.
"We have some evidence that another protein called osteoprotegerin (OPG) - which is also found in the bone - could interfere with RL's abilty to cause bone destruction. We hope that this protein can stop myeloma cells from attracting osteoclasts but more research is needed before we can prove this is the case," says Dr Croucher.
"Learning to sever this vicious cancer circle will be an enormous step forward in treating patients with myeloma," says Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of the Leukaemia Research Fund. "This enormous commitment to the research in Oxford is a sign of the importance we place on finding better treatments for patients with myeloma," he adds.
One patient who understands the importance of this research is myeloma patient Jennifer Wilkes, a school teacher from Ashford in Kent. The 54-year-old's life - which included many outdoor activites, such as cycling, trekking and tennis - was turned upside down overnight when she was diagnosed with myeloma nearly two years ago.
"For somebody like me - who is undergoing treatment for this terrible disease - it is such a boost to see essential research into myeloma receiving long-term support," Jennifer explains.
"It is so important that teams like this are given the resources to make progress as quickly as possible and to understand how blood cancers like this develop. This will ultimately lead to new treatments," she adds.
For further information, please call Andrew Miller or Andrew Trehearne on 020 7269 9019 or 020 7269 9068 (work) or 07968 373406.
 | Notes for editors |
 | Leukaemia Research Fund, the UK's leading blood cancer charity has just published a new myeloma leaflet, which highlights the latest progress in myeloma research. |
| There are very few cancers which develop in the bone. Scientists believe that bone can act as a fertiliser for tumours such as myeloma by providing the favourable conditions for these cancers to grow. They believe that the development of myeloma is actually a vicious circle - myeloma cells stimulate bone destruction cells which in turn stimulate the myeloma cells. |
| By blocking an interaction between the myeloma cells and the osteoclasts they are not only hoping to find a way of suppressing painful bone destruction but also stopping the cancer cells from spreading. |
| LRF researchers in Aberdeen are looking at a class of drugs called bisphosphonates, which appear to reduce bone damage. There is also growing evidence that these drugs - which were derived from chemicals used in the 1950's by the plumbing industry for stripping sludge from pipes - may actually have an anti-myeloma effect aswell. |
| The results of Dr Crouchers work were published in: Blood, 15 December 2001, Vol. 98, No. 13. |
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