Hope for cancer-stopping drugs

The world’s first drugs aimed a t s t o p p i n g c a n c e r c e l l s becoming resistant to treatment could be available within the next decade, scientists have said.

Such medicines could help cancer patients live longer and better quality lives by making the condition manageable and “more often curable”, those behind a new centre dedicated to tackling the problem said.

T h e I n s t i t u t e f o r C a n c e r Research’s (ICR) chief executive Professor Paul Work - man said drug resistance is the toughest challenge faced by those working against the disease.

He described a new research centre focusing on developing ways to get ahead of cancer’s lethal so-called “Dar winian” ability to evolve and become resistant as a “really exciting new development”.

The ICR is investing £75 million in a new Centre for Drug Discover y at its Sutton campus, and is appealing for a further £15 million to finish the project which it said will bring together almost 300 scientists from various fields to work t o g e t h e r o n s t o p p i n g c a n - cer’s evolution. Existing treatments including chemotherapy sometimes fail because the deadliest cancer cells manage to adapt and survive, researchers said, prompting them to take a different tack.

S c i e n t i s t s a i m to u s e n e w approaches including multidrug combination treatments and ar tificial intelligence to “herd” cancer cells together.