Breakthrough for toddler cancer treatment
Published: July 3, 2007
Medical experts at Edinburgh University believe they may have made a breakthrough discovery in the quest to find a cure for a rare cancer which primarily affects children aged under three.
Wilms’ tumour affects the kidneys of toddlers and babies and previous research has led scientists to believe that the tumour starts growing at the foetal stage. The new developments by Edinburgh University’s researchers hope to be able to prevent the tumour forming.
Dr Jamie Davies explained that his team was looking at blocking a gene known as WT1 which is thought to trigger the disease.
“It may be possible to reactive this gene to stop the tumour developing further,” he said.
“Or maybe we could develop a drug that will perform the function of the gene, even when the gene has stopped working.”
The research was funded with a 140,000 grant from the Association for International Cancer Research, based in nearby St Andrews.
Dr Mark Matfield, the charity’s scientific consultant, told The Scotsman that he hoped the cash would “open up new avenues of research which may well lead on to new therapeutic developments”.
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