Can we target speedy ‘super-competitor’ cells to stop bowel cancer?
Cancer types:
Bowel cancer
Project period:
–
Research institute:
Prinses Maxima Centrum
Award amount:
£249,915
Location:
Netherlands
Dr Sanne van Neerven in the Netherlands is investigating the link between inflammatory bowel diseases and bowel cancer. She believes long-term inflammation in the bowel might help some cells to compete and ‘win’ against other cells- setting the scene for tumour growth. By understanding how this happens she hopes to find new ways to stop bowel cancer before it becomes deadly.
Why is this research needed?
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be a lifelong and difficult condition. Sadly some people with forms of IBD like Crohn’s colitis or ulcerative colitis may also face an increased risk of developing bowel cancer. As many as 1 in 100 people with these conditions may develop bowel cancer after 10 years of symptoms, and this risk can increase over time.
We desperately need more effective strategies for preventing bowel cancer in high-risk patients. By focusing on exactly how inflammation influences bowel cell competition and behaviour just before a tumour starts, Dr Van Neerven hopes to find new targets for preventative treatments, and better ways to protect people with inflammatory bowel disease from developing cancer.
Receiving this grant (the very first grant for my new lab!) has been a major confidence boost and an incredibly meaningful vote of confidence in my research. It allows us to build a strong foundation and ask ambitious questions that we hope will ultimately lead to better understanding and improved outcomes for people affected by cancer.
What is the science behind this project?
People with inflammatory bowel disease often have symptoms of inflammation in the bowel for many years, and this inflammation can eventually encourage certain genetic and molecular changes in bowel cells. Dr Van Neerven believes that these changes help to turn some bowel cells into ‘super-competitors’. A bit like an athlete that can outrun everyone else, super-competitor cells can then outgrow other healthy cells around them. They spread across the bowel and create small areas that can potentially become cancerous, and turn into tumours.
In this worldwide project, the team will collaborate with scientists in both the UK and South Korea and develop expert tools to track these super-competitor cells in mice, gathering new data as they grow and spread across the bowel. They can then use these valuable insights to figure out exactly how these cells are driven by inflammation.
Finally, the team hope to be able to use this information to identify and test new drugs that could potentially stop super-competitor cells from getting off the starting blocks in the first place – and stop bowel cancer in its tracks.
What difference could this project make to patients in the future?
Dr Van Neerven hopes that her work will reveal brand new strategies for targeting these super-competitors at the very earliest stage—before they even become visible (and form tumours).
This work could potentially lead to targeted treatments that can prevent and reduce bowel cancer risk in high-risk patients, including patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease – helping to improve their lives and bring much needed peace of mind.
This project is funded thanks to the kind support of the Clemenson family
Janet Clemenson, who lived in Buckie in the north of Scotland, kindly left a very generous gift to Worldwide Cancer Research in her Will. Dr van Neervan’s research has been funded thanks to Mrs Clemenson’s generous gift.
Gifts in Wills fund a quarter of our research projects every year. They are essential for starting new cures so that one day, no one has to say goodbye too soon.
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