{"id":26443,"date":"2020-10-14T04:01:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T04:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=18044"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:16:16","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:16:16","slug":"were-asking-scientists-to-tackle-9-of-the-toughest-challenges-in-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/were-asking-scientists-to-tackle-9-of-the-toughest-challenges-in-cancer-research\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019re asking scientists to tackle 9 of the toughest challenges in cancer research"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lung<\/p>\n

Lung cancer cells. Credit: LRI EM Unit<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It started with a challenge.<\/p>\n

Or 7 to be exact, 7 challenges we issued to the global research community, challenges that scientists, doctors and people affected by cancer all agreed would help us make the radical process we need to beat cancer. Challenges that launched our most ambitious research initiative ever.<\/p>\n

Since we issued this first set of challenges back in 2015, we\u2019ve funded 7 international teams to tackle wide-ranging issues from preventing unnecessary breast cancer treatment<\/a> to understanding if the bacteria in our gut could help treat cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not done yet. While\u202four teams have been sinking their teeth into the challenges, we\u2019ve been on a global hunt for the next set of problems, working with researchers and people affected by cancer.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve been more ambitious than ever.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve partnered with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) \u2013 the US federal government\u2019s principal agency for cancer research and training \u2013 to build on the success of our Grand Challenge initiative and stimulate even more innovative research collaborations. The new partnership<\/a> brings the Cancer Grand Challenges investment up to \u00a3426 million to date.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest line up of Cancer Grand Challenges that we want the world\u2019s brightest minds to tackle.<\/p>\n

How do some cells stay normal despite having cancer-causing mistakes in their DNA?<\/h2>\n

Cancer develops when mistakes in our DNA \u2013 called mutations \u2013 cause cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. But the presence of these errors doesn\u2019t guarantee cancer will occur. Surprisingly, some cells continue to behave normally even when they have lots of \u2018cancer-causing\u2019 mutations.<\/p>\n

Why some cells can resist becoming cancerous but other can\u2019t remains a mystery. Researchers suspect that factors like ageing, the immune system and a cell\u2019s environment could play a part.<\/p>\n

If scientists could understand more about what makes our cells \u2018normal\u2019 and exactly what tips them into becoming cancerous, they may be able to develop new tools to help catch cancer early and design new drugs to target this transition and stop cancer before it starts.<\/p>\n

Can we develop new ways to deliver drugs into any and every cell?<\/h2>\n

New technology has allowed scientists to engineer smarter cancer drugs that can precisely target and kill tumour cells in the lab. But just doing this in the lab isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n

Getting drugs inside the \u2018right\u2019 cells is a major hurdle when it comes to designing new treatments. This task is particularly challenging for larger and more complex drugs \u2013 known as macromolecules \u2013 that are too big to slip into cells without help.<\/p>\n

But what if we could find innovative new ways to deliver these drugs to all cells in the body, including hard-to-reach places like the brain, but only kill the cancer cells?<\/p>\n

To do this, scientists could exploit innovative delivery methods like nanoparticles \u2013 tiny, drug-carrying vessels 1,000 times smaller than a human hair \u2013 or mimic the tactics viruses and toxins use to infiltrate cells.<\/p>\n

This is potentially one of the biggest hurdles facing researchers, but there\u2019s so much to gain if it works. This research could unlock new ways to treat not only cancer, but many other diseases.<\/p>\n

Can we take away cancer cells\u2019 power to divide?<\/h2>\n

Under certain stressful conditions \u2013 like when their DNA is damaged \u2013 cells can stop dividing and enter a state called senescence. It\u2019s a safety mechanism to stop faulty cells from multiplying.<\/p>\n

Senescence can help protect us against cancer by forcing would-be cancer cells to stop dividing before it\u2019s too late. And research suggests cancer cells can become senescent too, halting their growth.<\/p>\n

The big question we want scientists to answer is can we trigger cancer cells to become senescent? And can we find ways to target and eradicate these cells from the body?<\/p>\n

What are the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarette use around the world?<\/h2>\n

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular over the last decade, with an estimated 3 million people<\/a> in Great Britain using them in 2019. The majority of these people used to smoke.<\/p>\n

While e-cigarettes can help some people to stop smoking and the evidence so far suggests they\u2019re far less harmful than tobacco, it\u2019s still not clear what effects vaping has in the long term. And there are also questions about how the increased use of e-cigarettes might be affecting society as a whole \u2013 particularly young people.<\/p>\n

We need to shed light on these unknowns and in particular provide an answer to the crucial question: how safe are e-cigarettes and are there long-term health consequences?<\/p>\n

How does inflammation cause cancer?<\/h2>\n

Inflammation is one of the body\u2019s most powerful weapons. It\u2019s our immune system\u2019s first line of defence against infection and injury, involving a cascade of chemicals and immune cells that take down potential threats and help to heal our wounds.<\/p>\n

But as well as preventing infections and repairing injuries, inflammation can cause collateral damage and sometimes lead to cancer. It\u2019s estimated that up to 1 in 4 around the world are linked to chronic inflammation.<\/p>\n

The link between inflammation and cancer was first made over 150 years ago. But we still don\u2019t fully understand the link between inflammation and cancer, including how many types of inflammation exist, and which can cause the disease.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already got a team of scientists<\/a> unravelling the mystery of inflammation and cancer, but we think there\u2019s even more to learn. Because if researchers could untangle the complex web of interactions involved in inflammation and pinpoint which processes cause cancer, they could reveal new ways to prevent cancer from ever starting, potentially saving thousands of lives.<\/p>\n

Can we find new ways to treat solid tumours in children?<\/h2>\n

Despite great progress in understanding the biology of some children\u2019s cancers, the way we treat these diseases \u2013 especially solid tumours \u2013 has barely changed in over 30 years. And current treatments can have severe, life-long side effects.<\/p>\n

We desperately need new, more specific treatments that are gentler and more effective for children living with these diseases.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re beginning to understand that solid tumours in children are very different from those in adults. If we could understand more about these differences and find ways of targeting them, we could create new drugs or reuse existing ones to better treat children\u2019s cancer.<\/p>\n

How does DNA outside of our chromosomes helps cancer to survive and evolve?<\/h2>\n

Our DNA is mainly coiled into structures called chromosomes, which keep its long strands neatly organised. But cells can also contain small rings of DNA that exist separately from these chromosomes, called extrachromosomal DNA.<\/p>\n

These DNA loops are most commonly found in microbes like bacteria, but new research<\/a> has revealed that cancer cells contain vast amounts of extrachromosomal DNA, often containing copies of genes that help the cancer grow and survive. These rogue pieces of DNA can also change and multiply rapidly and are believed to help cancer to adapt, evolve and become resistant to treatment.<\/p>\n

But the exact role of extrachromosomal DNA in cancer is unclear.<\/p>\n

If we can understand how these extrachromosomal loops arise and change in cancer, we could create new therapies to target them.<\/p>\n

Why do some cancers come back many years after treatment?<\/h2>\n

Sometimes, patients who seem to have been successfully treated for cancer can have the disease come back years or even decades later, often without any warning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s thought that cancer cells that weren\u2019t killed by initial treatment can go to sleep, lying dormant until they\u2019re coaxed out of their slumber and begin to dive again, a phenomenon we\u2019ve written about before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But what causes some cancer cells to go sleep, or where they hide when they\u2019re asleep, is still a bit of a mystery. Scientists also don\u2019t know for sure what wakes these cells up years later.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a challenge that\u2019s cropped up before<\/a>. And we need answers.<\/p>\n

Understanding more about slumbering cancer cells could help scientists find these cells and eliminate them. Or, if we could predict when they\u2019re about to rise from their slumber, we could keep them sleeping permanently.<\/p>\n

Can we treat extreme weight loss and weakness in people with late-stage cancer?<\/h2>\n

In the late stages of cancer, some people experience extreme weight loss and muscle wasting \u2013 a condition called cachexia<\/a>. It can also lead to weakness and fatigue, with every-day activities becoming challenging.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t exactly know what happens in cachexia. But what\u2019s clear is that it\u2019s very different to general weight loss and can\u2019t be completely reversed by eating more or taking nutritional supplements.<\/p>\n

Worringly, cancer treatments are often less effective in people who have cachexia and other signs of deteriorating well-being.<\/p>\n

If scientists can unpick the complicated pathways involved, they could develop new treatments to improve the quality of life and survival of people with late-stage cancer.<\/p>\n

With these 9 challenges, we\u2019re pushing researchers to the edge of impossible. We can\u2019t wait to see who will rise to the challenge.<\/p>\n

Katie <\/em><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lung cancer cells. Credit: LRI EM Unit It started with a challenge. Or 7 to be exact, 7 challenges we issued to the global research community, challenges that scientists, doctors and people affected by cancer all agreed would help us make the radical process we need to beat cancer. Challenges that launched our most ambitious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44126,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26443\/revisions\/44126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}