Science Talk

When you think of The Institute of Cancer Research, what springs to mind?

Perhaps it’s our position as the leading academic drug discovery unit in the world; pioneering new targeted cancer treatments such as Abiraterone, a life-extending new drug to treat patients with advanced prostate cancer?

Or maybe you think of the 112 genetic variants we have discovered that can increase a person’s risk of developing different types of cancer?

Our role in the identification of the BRCA2 gene is just one example, a discovery that now allows women with a family history of breast cancer to find out if they are at greater risk themselves. More recently we have shown BRCA2 also has a role in aggressive prostate cancer and we have developed a new drug designed to target tumours with a BRCA mutation that has shown impressive results in an early-stage clinical trial.

So it is probably fair to say that the ICR is known for our excellence in translational research, but we also do essential work looking at the fundamentals of cell biology.

For example, Dr Mariam Orme, a Post-Doctoral Training Fellow in Molecular Cell Biology at the ICR, has just been announced as winner of the ICR Science Writing Prize 2013 for an article about fruit flies and their use in basic research. In it she says:

“Scientists all over the world use fruit flies for their work, which generally falls into the category of ‘basic research’. This means research that is primarily curiosity-driven: trying to find out more about how the world works for the sake of increasing mankind’s knowledge”

Miriam explains that fruit flies share many of the same biological processes that humans do, so they can be used to further our knowledge of those processes. Although scientists at the ICR are using fruit flies in their research to understand fundamental human biology, they also hope that one day this work will give us valuable information that leads to new cancer treatments or better ways to diagnose or even prevent cancer.

Another example of basic research conducted at the ICR is a study led by Dr Matt Smalley, now working for Cardiff University’s European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute. The study was published this week and looked at how stem cells behave in breast tissue:

“Current theories suggest that there may be similarities between the behaviour of normal adult stem cells and cancer cells. By better understanding the biology of adult stem cells scientists can better understand the behaviour of cancer cells and identify new targets for therapy.”

While the findings of the paper might not lead to a new cancer treatment in the next couple of years, basic research like this is crucial to the work the ICR does, as Mariam explains:

“Basic research may not be focused on providing new therapies for disease, but you never know how crucial the new knowledge it uncovers could prove in the future."

Without the fundamental research to uncover the complexities of cancer, we wouldn’t be able to develop new treatments and techniques to help combat disease. At the ICR, we have labs conducting basic research side-by-side labs doing cutting edge translational work, including those developing innovative personalised medicines, new techniques to improve radiotherapy, better diagnostic tests and enhanced imaging techniques.

Simply put, basic research paves the way to translational applications. From bench to bedside is a principle central to the ICR’s mission: “to make the discoveries that defeat cancer.”