Cracking the code of childhood cancer
06 August 2007 - Despite the ground-breaking discoveries in childhood cancers during the past 30 years, the relative rarity of such diseases creates practical obstacles in building on these achievements.
Dr Chris Jones, Team Leader of the Paediatric Molecular Pathology Team in The Institute of Cancer Research’s Section of Paediatric Oncology, believes that in order to further our understanding of the biology driving the molecular pathogenesis of childhood diseases, it is essential that clinicians and scientists cooperate to perform well-designed molecular studies on large clinical trial-based patient cohorts.
"Our approach is to use the latest techniques for the molecular genetic analysis of childhood cancers treated in national and international clinical trials," explains Dr Jones. The Institute’s Paediatric Molecular Pathology Team is searching for genes and gene-related proteins that may be useful biomarkers in paediatric malignancies. "We can exploit this molecular information to better diagnose tumour subtypes and to predict clinical behaviour and response to therapy."
The ultimate goal of the group’s work is to translate its basic science findings into practical benefits for the patient, and it has already provided evidence that over-reliance of Wilms tumour cells on the IGF-signalling cascade appears to be an excellent Achilles heel to exploit in tumours resistant to conventional therapies. "In fact, there are already monoclonal antibodies and small molecules which specifically target the IGF1R receptor in early clinical trials in adults. It is hoped that our work on the identification and validation of novel genetic targets will go some way to achieving the major goal of the Section of Paediatric Oncology - improving the survival of children with cancer," concludes Dr Jones.
Read more about Dr Jones' recent work in The Institute's Annual Research Report 2006.
Find out more about Dr Jones' research at The Institute
