Child cancer study research hailed
Updated on 21 April 2007
Scientists believe they have made an important breakthrough in the study of a little-known cancer that affects children under three.
Around 70 toddlers are diagnosed with Wilms' tumour, a cancer of the kidney, across the UK each year.
Previous studies found that damage to a specific gene during the development of the foetus in the womb was linked to the cancer.
This meant it was impossible to use normal genetic techniques, which inactivate genes from conception, to investigate how the tumour forms and how it could be treated.
In the latest research a team at Edinburgh University developed a new method for inactivating genes at any time of the experimenters' choosing.
And the group led by Dr Jamie Davies discovered that there is a crucial time during the development of the kidney when loss of the WT1 gene activity causes cells to multiply in an uncontrolled way, as is found in Wilms' tumour.
Dr Davies said: "This suggested that loss of WT1 on its own is enough to start a tumour developing, if it happens during this key development stage. It also provides a system that researchers can use to investigate how this uncontrolled multiplication may be prevented."
The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR), which funded the research, believes the work paves the way for further investigation which could lead to methods to treat or even prevent the cancer.
AICR scientific consultant Dr Mark Matfield said: "To develop specific, effective treatments for rare cancers, we need to understand how they are caused and the mechanisms that make the cells divide.
"Fundamental research like this is going to open up new avenues of research which may well lead on to new therapeutic developments."
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