Science appeal

Dr Rodriguez-Viciana's life-saving research

It's remarkable just how much things have changed since the 1960's; survival rates have improved dramatically, even in the last couple of years. Today as many as four out of five children survive leukaemia.

The drugs used in chemotherapy are wonderfully effective; they have saved literally millions of lives over the last few decades. However, the side-effects can be hard to bear and make children extremely unwell.

Chemotherapy may also have dangerous long-term side-effects. These include risks of teenage cancers, heart damage and infertility. It seems incredibly unfair that a child can overcome the devastation of leukaemia but may then be diagnosed with another cancer.

New drugs.
New drugs that won't put children’s future health at risk are needed to fight leukaemia.

We're funding a ground-breaking project taking place at University College London (UCL). Dr Pablo Rodriguez-Viciana has been recruited from California to lead research into a gene that is involved in up to a third of all cancers, including childhood leukaemias.

The hallmark of cancer.
The gene that Dr Rodriguez-Viciana and his team are studying is called 'ras'. It's vital in helping cells to grow normally, but it can become damaged and permanently 'switched on' leading to uncontrolled cell growth, the hallmark of cancer.

Dr Rodriguez-Viciana has discovered a protein which can interact with the abnormal ras gene, allowing it to 'switch off' and return growth to normal. They will test this further, with the ultimate aim of developing selective, less toxic drugs that can stop leukaemias and other cancers in their tracks.

You can help.
This is just one strand of a £1 million programme of research we are funding at the new Cancer Centre at UCL; work which is piecing together our understanding of the intricacies of childhood cancers.

A donation from you can help Dr Rodiguez-Viciana and all our scientists make a real difference to children with leukaemia and their families.

To make a donation online now, click here.To make a regular monthly donation, click hereTo read more about this research, click here

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