Our work

Cancer stem cells only make up a tiny part of a tumour, but are responsible for the most damaging aspects of the disease: its ability to spread and resist treatment. When current treatments do not destroy all of these cells, cancer may often reoccur for patients. We are aiming to develop treatments that directly tackle cancer stem cells, with enormous potential to save lives.

Results in pancreatic cancer stem cell research

The team have discovered two key molecules that control pancreatic cancer stem cells. By suppressing these molecules in the lab:

• The cancer cells became less aggressive
• Fewer cancer stem cells formed in spheres
• The cancer cells moved less (i.e. did not spread), as shown in these seven second films:

These two key molecules were found in high levels in samples of 100 pancreatic cancer patients, and they were associated with reduced survival. Next we want to find out if these molecules can make cells respond to chemotherapy again, and how we can deliver this type of therapy for patients.

We believe these molecules are crucial for tumour production and that treatments targeting them could save lives.

Results in breast cancer stem cell research

We have discovered an important molecule (SCIRT), that controls breast cancer stem cells. Experiments revealed that:

• SCIRT is present in normal breast tissue, but is in high levels in breast cancer tissue
• Levels of SCIRT are very high in estrogen receptor negative breast cancer tissue
• Suppressing SCIRT increases the number of spheres with cancer stem cells

Next we want to discover if SCIRT can be used to predict the stage of breast cancer and if it can be tackled with drugs.

From research to treatment with your help

With your support we can take this research to the next level and work to develop better drugs and achieve better diagnostic and treatment decisions. With your help we can tackle cancer stem cells. Please donate today by clicking here.

Thank you