A RESEARCHER from the University of Dundee has received a near-$1 million (£770k) funding boost to develop more effective treatments with fewer side effects for Ewing’s sarcoma – a rare type of cancer that mainly affects children and young people.
Professor Kevin Hiom, from the university’s School of Medicine, will jointly lead a transatlantic team of scientists awarded a Stand Up To Cancer/Cancer Research UK Paediatric Cancer New Discoveries Challenge award.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of new treatments for some of the rarest and hardest-to-treat cancers in children and young people.
Ewing’s sarcoma affects the bones or the soft tissue around them. If caught early, most patients can be treated successfully, but the side effects of the chemotherapies can continue to impact young people for the rest of their lives. Sadly, for some patients with Ewing’s sarcoma, particularly if the disease has spread, their cancer doesn’t respond to the current treatments.
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Professor Hiom welcomed the award, adding: “It is an ambitious goal, but we hope this research could lead to new treatments for Ewing’s sarcoma that aren’t as tough on young people as the ones we use now, and maybe new treatments that could help more young people to survive this rare cancer in the future.
“The award is also proud recognition of Dundee’s reputation as a world leader in biomedical research, one that offers unique opportunities.
“We’re proud to have been awarded this funding from Stand Up To Cancer and Cancer Research UK, and we’re looking forward to bringing our expertise to a global team to help more young people across the world with this devastating disease.”
The team of scientists from Dundee, the University of Texas in San Antonio and the City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles will look to build on recent discoveries they have made. This includes how Ewing’s sarcoma affects the cellular machinery in the body to develop new treatments that could help more children and young people survive the disease with a better quality of life.
Stand Up To Cancer in the UK is a joint national fundraising initiative from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4. Today will see special editions of Celebrity Gogglebox and The Last Leg broadcast to raise awareness of the cause.
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