OXFORD University has been awarded £195,000 to research ways of tackling leukaemia.
Professor Paresh Vyas and his team were given the money by the blood cancer charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research to track down the genes that cause cancer cells to become ‘chemo-resistant’. These cells are not killed by chemotherapy and later come back, causing relapse.
Mr Vyas said: “During this research we will be looking for new drug targets to improve treatment for those affected by cancer relapse in aggressive leukaemia.”
The majority of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia cases are diagnosed in older patients, where patients over 60 have a cure rate of just five per cent.
Scientists hope this research would make it possible to identify those “destined” to relapse and provide them with treatment accordingly.
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