’Disappearing’ tumour study could lead to new cancer treatments

A research study at The University of Nottingham looking at how growth can contribute to spontaneous childhood cancer regression could lead to more effective ways of treating tumours.

The one-year project, led by Christopher Jones in the School of Nursing in collaboration with Dr Michael Symonds in the Division of Child Health and Dr David Walker at the University’s Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre, will look at whether growth hormone plays a part in tumours spontaneously getting better.

The researchers are looking at neuroblastoma, which accounts for around six per cent of all childhood cancers. Around 100 children develop neuroblastoma each year in the UK and most of these are less than four years of age.

In around three-quarters of these cases the cancer spreads around the body and the current survival rates are only around 30 per cent.

However, when a tumour of this kind occurs in the liver, particularly in the first year of life, it is only fatal in between 10 and 20 per cent of sufferers and, in many cases, spontaneously regresses without the need for treatment.

Scientists have been studying this medical phenomenon for many years, although most research has centred on looking at the biology of the tumour in an effort to discover why it self-destructs.

The Nottingham researchers, however, believe it could be something within the body and not the tumour itself that sparks off this regression and think that it could be due to the release of hormones that control growth in infancy.

Dr Michael Symonds said: “We believe that spontaneous tumour regression is linked to unique changes within the liver in early childhood, which coincide with the onset of growth hormone-dependent growth.”

It is hoped that the study, funded with £7,000 from the Special Trustees of Nottingham University Hospital, will attract more funding for the study of childhood cancers and could even lead to more effective treatments for non-regressing neuroblastoma, as well as other aggressive tumours such as breast cancer and certain types of childhood brain tumours.

Media Contact

Lyn Heath-Harvey alfa

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors