|  |  |  | | | | Cardiff scientists develop new understanding of common blood cancer | | | | |
| |  Dr Chris Pepper
Release Date: 17 July 2008
Scientists at Cardiff University, funded by Leukaemia Research, have taken another step forward in their ongoing research into better treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, the commonest form of leukaemia in the Western world.
Dr Chris Pepper, who is leading the team at the School of Medicine, has identified a key protein in the blood that prevents chemotherapy killing leukaemia cells. The team’s findings are published in the prestigious journal Blood.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is an incurable and slowly progressing blood cancer, characterised by a build up of malignant cells in the patient’s blood. Dr Pepper explains: “The relentless accumulation of malignant cells is caused, at least in part, by the inability of the leukaemia cells to die naturally. We believe a group of proteins in the blood collectively known as the Bcl-2 family help leukaemia cells resist the normal cell death mechanisms.”
Dr Pepper’s team were eager to find out exactly how the Bcl-2 family of proteins protect the leukaemia cells from dying after chemotherapy. Dr Pepper explains: “ We undertook the largest study of these proteins ever carried out. We showed that one member of this protein family, Mcl-1, plays a very important role in the progression of the disease. In short, we found that leukaemia patients with lots of the Mcl-1 protein in their blood had a much shorter lifespan than those without it.”
Dr Pepper added: “Our work also demonstrated that the Mcl-1 protein is key to the resistance of leukaemia cells to conventional chemotherapy drugs. Now we know this, we are developing treatments that can specifically single out this protein and stop it keeping leukaemia cells alive. We hope to use this new knowledge to directly help patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia live as long and as normal a life as possible.”
Leukaemia Research currently has over £700,000 invested in research into blood cancers in Cardiff University.
Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of Leukaemia Research, says: “Cardiff University is one of the leading centres for research into this form of leukaemia. The response to treatment with chemotherapy is very variable. It is crucial to identify those patients who have a poor prognosis at an early stage so that they can be offered treatment that can overcome resistance to conventional anti-cancer drugs. This research is an important step in this direction. “
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