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Release Date: 19th February 2003
University of Southampton scientists embarking on a key European project to help improve the diagnosis of cancers have been awarded £45,000 by the Leukaemia Research Fund (LRF) to push forward with their lifesaving work.
The team at Southampton General Hospital is particularly interested in a type of cancer called skin lymphoma which can be extremely difficult to diagnose. They form part of a European consortium involving hundreds of scientists in 32 laboratories across seven nations each looking at different forms of lymphoma - a cancer of the blood related to leukaemia.
Diagnosis of skin lymphoma is a particularly difficult task because it can appear in so many different forms. Skin lymphoma should not be confused with skin cancers, such as melanoma, which are more common.
Until now, most hospitals use a technique called immunohistochemistry - a way of staining cancer cells so they can be seen under a microscope. But this technique only picks up a proportion of skin lymphomas - so many cases go undiagnosed.
Around 10,000 people are diagnosed with lymphoma in the UK alone each year. Yet accurate diagnosis can be a problem, and tests are not standardized between individual treatment centres in the UK let alone in the European Union (EU). The EU’s BIOMED -2 project aims to create a standard set of criteria using a molecular technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Using this technique pathologists can amplify minute DNA samples millions of times within hours to detect even the smallest numbers of cancer cells.
Dr Louise Lavender, said: “This is absolutely crucial research. Traditionally pathologists have had to make their diagnosis under the microscope. It has become clear that this technique is just not sensitive enough to pick up every single patient who has this cancer.
“This is why it is so crucial that we devise a foolproof method to make sure that anybody with this terrible disease can be treated at the earliest opportunity, and be given the treatment most suited to their individual disease.”
Lymphoma can be a very difficult disease to diagnose because no single case is ever quite the same. But once we have the genetic fingerprints to identify the different forms of this disease it should make diagnosis much better.
Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of the Leukaemia Research Fund said: “This is an important time in lymphoma research. At last the enormous power of modern technology is beginning to have a real impact on the treatment of diseases such as these, which claim thousands of lives each year.”
One person who understands the importance of this research is Mike Bampton, a 49-year-old training consultant from Locks Heath in Southampton. Mike was diagnosed with a form of skin lymphoma, called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, in August 2001.
"It is a complete shock when you are told that you have cancer particularly a rare form such as this," said Mike. "You don't really have much information and you don't know what to expect. It was really tough at the beginning when you feel a whole range of extreme emotions, from denial to anger to sadness. Plus, I was very, very scared.”
Mike has undergone a range of treatments, including a treatment called PUVA and radiotherapy to kill the malignant cells. Although these treatments were initially effective his skin lymphoma progressed. He is now taking part in a trial of a promising new treatment, originating from Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the USA. Called ONTAK, the drug targets a specific marker on the cancer cell surface.
Currently in the seventh weekly cycle (of eight, spread over 24 weeks, making 40 infusions in total) of this treatment, Mike explains: "Despite the fact this treatment made me really ill, particularly in the first 3 cycles, it does seem to be working. My lesions and tumours have cleared, and my skin looks almost normal.”
Mike, ever optimistic, describes himself as an enthusiastic ‘test pilot’. "It is absolutely paramount that research like this can progress so we can find a way to overcome these diseases. Better and earlier diagnosis, together with more targeted treatments, will represent a major step forward for people like myself “ he added.
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