|  |  |  | | | | CANTERBURY SCIENTISTS SEAR FOR NEW LEUKAEMIA TREATMENT | | | | |
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Release Date: 22nd January 2002
A potent radioisotope with the ability to kill cancer cells is coming under investigation in Canterbury as a potential new treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
Scientists at the University of Kent and the Kent and Canterbury Hospital have today been awarded £100,000 by the Leukaemia Research Fund to see whether the isotope called astatine-211 can be used effectively to kill these leukaemia cells.
Dr Philip Blower of the hospital's Nuclear Medicine Department and Dr Peter Nicholls from the University's Department of Biosciences will work together to test the potent isotope, which is delivered directly to the cancer cells using antibody targeted chemotherapy - effectively a special missile laden with devastating cargo that only binds to the leukaemia cells. This should prevent the radioisotope from destroying normal cells in the body.
If their laboratory tests confirm this selectivity, the hope is that the radioisotope treatment will then be tested with patients with acute myeloid leukaemia. By modifying the antibody, the same approach could then be developed to treat other types of cancer.
"Most current treatments, including those for leukaemias, rely on toxic drugs that kill cancer cells. Unfortunately for patients these highly toxic drugs also harm normal cells which can have unpleasant side effects, preventing the administration of the large doses that are often required to cure the disease," says Dr Blower.
"We hope it will be possible to deliver the isotope directly to the leukaemia cell without causing unnecessary damage to healthy cells. This would mean that the side effects would be much more tolerable than with standard chemotherapy," he adds.
Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of Leukaemia Research Fund, welcomes the new reseach: "It is crucial that we invest money in this type of research that so that more effective treatments can be developed to improve the outlook for leukaemia patients."
Acute myeloid leukaemia is a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood that affects the immature cells in the bone marrow. Approximately 1,600 people are diagnosed with AML each year in the UK. It is much more common in adults than in childre
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