One week down. Three to go

[Sue]

Below are just some of the things cancer research UK have done to limit the effects of cancer.
All the work - from research into cancer biology through to clinical trials - would not be possible without the generosity of supporters.

Please support me in my Dryathlon to raise funds for this worthwhile cause. My initial target of £150 has been met and surpassed. I am now hoping to raise over £300. At the moment the total stands at £160 from online sponsorship and £80 offline, a total of £240. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of my sponsors. Thankyou.


Extracted from the website of Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK’s renowned Drug Development Office manages drug development across the country. It also runs two state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to producing experimental cancer medicines - the Formulation Unit and the Biotherapeutics Development Unit.

And we help to fund some of the world’s leading research on drug development all over the UK.

Our impact

Here are just a few examples of our ground-breaking work in this area:

Docetaxel
Our scientists looked at the effects of docetaxel (Taxotere) on cells in the lab to better understand how it kills tumours in the body. Docetaxel is used to treat thousands of people with cancer, including women with breast and ovarian cancer.

New prostate drug
We played a pivotal role in the early development and testing of a promising new drug called abiraterone for aggressive prostate cancer.

Using yeast to study drugs
Our researchers used yeast cells to study how cancers develop resistance to the anticancer drugs doxorubicin and chlorambucil (Leukeran). 5 Doxorubicin is used to treat a range of cancers, and chlorambucil is given to some people with leukaemia or lymphoma. Understanding how resistance to drugs occurs is vital in helping scientists to develop treatments that avoid this problem.

Treating pancreatic cancer
Our scientists helped discover why pancreatic cancers often fail to respond to a commonly used drug called gemcitabine (Gemzar).Researchers hope to use this knowledge to improve how the drug is used in the future, and to increase survival in this hard-to-treat cancer in the future.

Breast cancer test
In an important step towards more personalised treatment, our scientists discovered that an existing lab test can predict whether breast cancer patients will respond to certain drugs. They found that the test for a particular genetic fault in cancer cells also pinpoints women who are sensitive to epirubicin (Pharmorubicin) and related drugs. This test could enable doctors to give such drugs only to those women who will benefit most from them.

[Gloria]

Well done, keep it up.