‘Personalised’ cancer treatment for patients
ADVANCED TREATMENT AVAILABLE AT RVI
HUNDREDS of cancer patients are to benefit from a new “personalised” cancer treatment and research project in Newcastle.
Funded by the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation in Newcastle, the PROSPECT-NE genome sequencing project will work with up to 800 cancer patients from across the North East and Cumbria over the next four years.
It will help develop “personal” cancer treatments, find out how cancer is impacting on patients’ health and determine in advance if sideeffects are likely from treatment.
Funded by an £892,000 contribution from the charity, the project is being delivered at the Royal Victoria Infirmary’s Newcastle Molecular Pathology Node Proximity Lab - a partnership between Newcastle University and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. PROSPECTNE links with the cancer drug trials undertaken by patients at the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre (at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care, Freeman Hospital). Genome sequencing is a technique used to ‘read’ DNA, which is made up of four different chemicals
Knowing more about their genome may mean that a particular treatment can be recommended or even developed
represented by the letters A, T, C and G. Sequencing a human genome means finding the sequence of someone’s unique 3.2 billion letters of DNA one by one.
For some patients, knowing more about their genome may mean that a particular treatment can be recommended or even developed.
PROSPECT-NE is also finding out more about naturally-occurring substances in blood called biomarkers, which can help guide treatment for patients with cancer.
These include biomarkers that can tell us more about the tumour, such as any tumour cells, proteins or genetic material circulating around the body.
Patients taking part in PROSPECTNE will be considering trials of new cancer drugs at the Sir Bobby Robson Centre and will have regular blood samples taken, undergo grip (strength) tests and general health reviews.
The number of cases of cancer in the North East and Cumbria is higher than the national average and the Sir Bobby Robson Centre sees around 450 new patients every year.