Finding new ways to target blood cancer with less side effects

Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, with around 40,000 people diagnosed every year. Thanks to research, survival has improved a lot over the past 40 years, with the development of more targeted therapies that block specific proteins, which the cancer needs to grow. But not all blood cancers can be treated this way, and sometimes blood cancer can become resistant to these drugs. Recently researchers have found molecules that block a specific protein called cyclin D3. Many blood cancers rely on this cyclin D3 to grow and survive, whereas most healthy cells use a different cyclin protein.

In this project, Dr Örd and his team at the University of Cambridge want to understand exactly how these molecules stop the cancer cells from being able to grow and multiply. They will conduct experiments in the lab to find out which blood cancers are most likely to respond well to this treatment, as well as working to improve the molecules to make them even better at blocking cyclin D3 which the cancer cells need to grow and survive. They will also test to see if these new molecules can work well alongside existing drugs that are already used in other cancers to make treatments even more effective.

Ultimately the researchers hope to be able to develop a new drug in the future that offers a better treatment for blood cancer with fewer side effects. While developing a new drug can take many years, the Dr Örd and his team are also exploring whether existing drugs used to treat other cancers could be adapted to treat blood cancer. If successful, this could bring life-changing treatments to patients much sooner.