New study by Queen’s University to tackle treatment-resistant cancer

A new study by researchers in Belfast is exploring how bowel cancer develops resistance to treatment.

Early-onset cases of the disease are rising in the UK, and the team at Queen’s University are focusing on why cancerous cells stop responding to certain drugs used in chemotherapy.

Cancer Research UK, which is funding the study, says it a common problem that makes successful treatment of the disease difficult.

The team will look at RNA, a molecule which carries instructions from our DNA and tells cells how and when to grow.

Cancer occurs when cells grow too much, forming tumours – if this is stopped early, the disease can be prevented from developing.

Genotoxic drugs are commonly used during chemotherapy to treat bowel cancer by killing cancer cells through damaging their DNA and RNA.

However, cancerous cells can become resistant to these treatments and begin to grow again.

This research will focus on the mechanics that cancerous RNA cells use to overcome chemotherapies.

The project’s lead researcher, Dr Susanta Chatterjee, said: “We know cancer can resist treatments by hijacking healthy processes designed to remove the errors which cause cancer cells to grow.

“If we can better understand these mechanisms, we could ultimately improve anti-cancer therapies.”

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK.

Every year around 1,300 people a year in Northern Ireland are diagnosed with it, of which, around 490 die from the disease.

And recent studies show increasing rates of diagnosis in UK adults aged between 25 and 49.

Dr Catherine Elliott, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer’s ability to eventually overcome existing treatments and start growing again is one of the biggest challenges in cancer research.

“New solutions are needed urgently.”