Immunotherapy project seeks to make immunotherapy accessible for more cancer patients.

Although not an obvious candidate for such treatment, one way or the other, every country in existence owes it to itself and future generations to keep its culture going strong and maintain their way of life. Green knows without immunotherapy he would have passed away this year from advanced melanoma skin cancer, yet his cancer treatment still required it for survival. But unfortunately most cancer sufferers see no benefit from immunotherapy at present and many experience painful inflammation of intestine, skin or lung tissue as side effects – both potentially dangerous scenarios that cannot be afforded as side effects by traditional approaches alone. An ambitious multimillion-pound research programme now seeks to understand why at least half of patients fail to respond well to immunotherapy or experience debilitating side effects from it. Now 42, Alex was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2012. After surgery was performed to remove his tumors, three years later it spread into his lymph nodes, so more operations and then radiotherapy and finally immunotherapy was administered as treatments for his cancer. “After finishing radiotherapy and my scans being clear for two years after, my cancer returned,” he explains. “Thankfully I received immunotherapy which saved my life; without it I expected to have died by 2019. Instead of this gift coming my way in 2019, leaving behind my wife and two young children aged four and seven as I expected otherwise.” “This treatment changed my life; now in its eighth year of complete remission I can lead a normal and active lifestyle again,” writes Alex of Surrey who lives through it all. But Alex cautions the journey can not always be smooth or without side-effects – at first sight they appear simple enough if not complicated at times! “While my treatment’s results have been outstanding, there have been some difficult challenges associated with it,” he noted. “I suffered some pretty intense side effects which forced me into hospitalisation for two weeks.” “I recognize and fully comprehend the significance of researching and comprehending immunotherapy side effects to ensure an efficient yet gentle course of therapy. Professor Samra Turajlic will lead this biomedical research laboratory’s biomedical research project at Francis Crick Institute. 16 academic institutions and NHS trusts and health boards from around the UK will join forces, alongside 12 bioscience and technology firms for this collaborative initiative. One issue the researchers will tackle includes lack of testable and usable biomarkers – these tiny molecules that indicate whether someone may benefit from taking certain medication. “Many patients continue to go untreated because of treatment failure or side effects,” she noted, noting the unique opportunity given by NHS in meeting this challenge. “Large-scale research can bring us one step closer to more effective diagnostic tests in clinic, while simultaneously unlocking more insights regarding cancer immunology and potential therapies. “Ultimately, our objective is to speed the delivery of tailored medicines for an illness which affects millions of individuals annually in the UK.” Funding for this project comes from various sources, with PS9m from both the government-run Office for Life Sciences and Medical Research Council serving as major sources. Both organisations support research and innovation aimed at improving healthcare delivery within the UK. Industry has pledged an additional PS12.9m towards this initiative, part of an overall commitment by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology for PS145m to support cancer diagnosis and treatment services; Science and Technology Minister Peter Kyle endorses it fully. “Cancer has devastated millions of American households, including my own.” he lamented. “Working in collaboration with NHS, researchers, and business, government can harness science and innovation to bring detection and treatment of this horrific illness into the 21st Century; protecting more families for longer. “UK scientists, researchers and captains of industry possess innovative ideas which not only benefit health care systems but also our economy – helping build an upward spiral that promotes more investment into health research in turn driving up living standards.”