Understanding how some cancer cells are shielded from chemotherapy
In the project, Dr Ringhausen wants to understand more about how CLL cells can resist treatment.
The challenge
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a type of blood cancer that can be treated but cannot currently be cured. Chemotherapy is a common treatment used for people with CLL, but it’s thought that some cancerous cells get left behind after chemotherapy, causing the cancer return.
The project
Dr Ingo Ringshausen and his team think that there are non-cancerous cells that shield cancerous cells from the effects of chemotherapy, meaning those cancerous cells aren’t destroyed by treatment. He wants to understand more about how this happens.
The future
The hope is that by understanding more about this process, new treatments could be developed to reverse this and to improve the effectiveness of treatments like chemotherapy. This could improve survival for people with CLL and other types of blood cancer such as lymphoma.
What our community think
“This research, if successful, is very encouraging for blood cancer patients.”
- Patient Voice Grant Advisory Network Member, living with non-Hodgkin lymphoma