|  |  |  | | | | Nottingham scientists combat blood cancer | | | | |
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Release Date: 31 January 2007
A Nottingham scientist and her team are working to improve the effectiveness of drugs used to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer that affects an important part of the immune system.
Professor Anne Willis, of the University of Nottingham, has received a grant from leading blood cancer charity, Leukaemia Research, to investigate why lymphoma cells fail to die when treated with anti-cancer drugs. She hopes that this may help her unlock the key to designing future successful treatments.
Professor Willis explained: “Normally cells wear out and die after a period of time but if this process fails, the cells become malignant. It would appear that there is an over production of proteins in lymphoma cells which allow them to survive despite chemotherapy. This makes them resistant to treatment.”
The team is trying to find a way to prevent the production of these proteins by using drugs that were originally developed for patients undergoing organ transplants. These drugs will be tested in combination with existing drugs for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a technique known as combination therapy. Professor Willis said: “We hope that the drugs intended to treat organ transplant patients may also be able to help those battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”
Leukaemia Research has awarded the team £56,000 over a period of a year. Scientific Director at Leukaemia Research, Dr David Grant said: “If Professor Willis and her team can make lymphoma cells more responsive to combination therapy it could offer a new approach to treatment for the 6,5000 patients newly diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the UK each year.“
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