Cancer discovery news

Our researchers are making the discoveries that defeat cancer. Read the latest findings from our world-leading research.

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Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Identical twins reveal new clues to origins of childhood leukaemia

16/01/15

A new study of identical twins with leukaemia has traced its earliest genetic changes all the way back to immature cells from the immune system, which develop before children are even born.
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New clues to skin cancer development show sunscreen is not enough

11/06/14

Scientists have shown that sunscreen cannot be relied upon alone to prevent malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.
MicroRNA and mRNA in differentiating C1C12 cells
MicroRNA could be key target for bowel cancer treatment

14/04/14

A tiny genetic molecule called microRNA plays a central role in bowel cancer and could be key to developing new treatments for the disease, say ICR Researchers.
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Mutations in leukaemia gene linked to new childhood growth disorder

09/03/14

Genetic mutations associated with leukaemia cause a newly described condition that affects growth and intellectual development in children.
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Immune system development linked to leukaemia

12/01/14

New study shows how a genetic mutation can turn one of our defences against infection into a driver of cancer.
Pinpointing the first founder mutations that lead to leukaemia

12/12/13

Professors Mel Greaves and Richard Houlston were able to identify the exact mutations that kick-start cancer, potentially enabling more effective targeted therapies.
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ICR scientists find genes for common childhood leukaemia

30/08/13

The largest study of its kind has linked two inherited genetic variants with an increase in susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
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ICR researchers in new international trial for neuroblastoma

13/08/13

New 'BEACON' trial led by ICR scientists aims to tackle treatment-resistant form of childhood cancer neuroblastoma.
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Study shows benefit of thalidomide in treatment of myeloma

27/07/13

The controversial drug thalidomide could play an important role in treatment of myeloma by eradicating the final, residual traces of cancerous cells in patients.
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Testing micro-RNAs could aid myeloma diagnosis

19/06/13

Tiny pieces of genetic material called micro-RNAs – miRNAs for short – could help improve diagnosis in people with myeloma, a study at The Institute of Cancer Research, London has shown.
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Genes help shape-shifting skin cancer cells to spread

09/06/13

Scientists at the ICR have identified a set of genes that allow melanoma cells to change rapidly between two shapes in order to escape from the skin and spread around the body.
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Flower shape and new treatments for myeloma

30/05/13

ICR scientists find a genetic process that determines a flower's shape could also underlie the development of blood cancer.