Charity that's a lifeline to scientists at the cutting edge of cancer research

A decade or so ago, when all efforts were being concentrated on the prevention and treatment of lung cancer, the York University scientist stood out as a lone voice.

The lack of support was understandable. Lung cancer was then one of the major killers of British adults and, with a desperate need to reduce the number of deaths, it attracted the bulk of research funding.

Yet Professor Maitland was convinced that prostate cancer was a bigger threat to men than anyone had realised and, with quiet determination and a generous grant from Yorkshire Cancer Research, he went back to his lab where alongside a dedicated team, he put his hunch to the test.

"Prostate cancer is a silent killer and the true extent of the disease was not known," he says. "With no obvious early symptoms and with many men often labouring under the belief they are immortal and reluctant to go to their doctor, even when they get to the stage of obvious discomfort, the diagnosis and survival rates were skewed.

"At the time I really became interested in the disease, prostate cancer wasn't a particularly glamorous area of research. However, with survival rates of lung cancer having improved considerably and the scope of research having widened, the picture has cleared a little."

Certainly the statistics relating to prostate cancer are stark. Each year 35,000 men are diagnosed with the disease and 10,000 die from it. Various treatments have been tried, some more successful than others, but Prof Maitland's research team may well be on the brink of a major breakthrough.

The York University research has centred round the analysis of stem cells within tumours and, while the science is complex and there are years of testing ahead, even he admits a sense of satisfaction.

"When I first began to talk about the importance of stem cells in getting to the root of prostate cancer, it was out of the comfort zone of many scientists," he says. "I was convinced we were on to something and for a few years we just put our heads down and got on with the research.

"The traditional male hormone treatment for prostate cancer has been successful in giving sufferers respite from the disease, but the stem cells remain unaffected. The cancer often lies dormant, but in the vast majority of cases it does eventually return. Sometimes it takes just a few months, sometimes it takes 10 years, but it really is just a matter of time.

"Having identified how the stem cells react, our work now is concentrated on finding a treatment which kills the cancer in those cells."

Medical research is a long and often rocky road, but while wary of making any grand predictions, Prof Maitland hopes to begin clinical trials in 2012. If those are successful, the treatment of prostate cancer could be transformed. Until then he is also using the platform given to him by Yorkshire Cancer Research to raise awareness of the disease.

"Some people have called for a national screening programme similar to that which we now have for breast cancer," he says. "The problem is the current test for prostate cancer is not specific enough. It doesn't discriminate between the minority of aggressive, life-threatening cancers and the majority that are slow-growing and which it is quite possible patients would never know they had in their lifetimes.

"The knock-on would be a lot of false positive results and

investigating every one of these cases would simply not be a good use of NHS resources. We need another approach. The average age of prostate cancer patient at diagnosis is 70 and the longer it is left the greater the chance it will have spread.

"What we need is for men over 50 who have had family members die from the disease to swallow their embarrassment and their reluctance and make an appointment to see their GP. For all the work we are doing, as with every cancer, prevention is better than cure."

With Yorkshire Cancer Research marking its 85th anniversary, the charity is keen to champion the achievements of Prof Maitland and those other unsung heroes like him. Over the next five years it has also pledged to invest a further 11m in world-class studies at universities in York, Bradford, Hull, Leeds and Sheffield and likens the work going on in labs up and down the county as cancer research's answer to America's Silicon Valley.

For Prof Phil Quirke, who is at the forefront of bowel cancer treatment, the support of YCR has been vital. The pathologist, based at the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine at St James's Hospital in Leeds, has been behind moves to champion an almost forgotten operation first performed in Yorkshire 100 years ago.

More than 16,000 people die in the UK each year from bowel cancer and, while treatments have advanced and an NHS screening programme has led to much earlier diagnosis, Prof Quirke's work, part of a 1.1m YCR-funded study, has shown that an ancient surgical technique, first used by specialists at Leeds General Infirmary in 1909, reduces the risks of tumours recurring in patients with colon cancer – the most common form of bowel cancer. With the treatment of bowel cancer currently costing up to 100,000 per patient, the breakthrough could also save an overstretched NHS millions.

"Survival rates for colon disease have been static for three decades," says Prof Quirke. "The historic technique cuts out more tissue than those used by modern surgeons and increases the chances of tumours being removed intact.

"The support of a charity like Yorkshire Cancer Research is vital as it has given us the resources to push these developments forward as well as helping us on a separate study to identify which patients are more likely to respond to new therapies and the latest techniques."

YCR has recently announced a further 500,000 wave of funding for

projects at Leeds University and the influence of the charity can be

seen across the county.

At Bradford University, it is continuing to support the development of new cancer drugs, Hull University has taken major step forwards in improving MRI scans and, at Sheffield, various projects are underway looking at the causes and the ever elusive cures for cancer.

Such research does not come cheap and, like many charities, YCR has not been immune to the effects of the recession. However, despite tough economic times, which have seen the value of legacies slump in line with property prices, YCR's income has remained buoyant.

Last year, it saw its annual income rise by 12 per cent to 6.4m and with Mark Stevens, who was previously a board director at Bradford and Bingley, recently appointed chief executive, it is hoped a new

programme of fund-raising will keep the coffers full.

"All of us who work in the field of cancer research in Yorkshire know we are lucky to have the support of YCR," adds Prof Maitland, who has been given 733,000 over the next financial year which funds 14 additional posts. "But we do live in very difficult times.

Breakthroughs don't happen overnight, so should there be any

millionaires reading this who are looking for a good cause, they know where to find us."

Yorkshire cancer research anniversary events

n R U Taking the P...? For the first time the charity will hold a men-only 5k run. The idea came from two members of the York Knavesmire Harriers Running Club and will take place at the city's Rowntree Park on Father's Day, June 20. To take part, visit www.yorkknavesmireharriers.co.uk.

n Bounce for Sheffield (pictured): On July 25, the charity is hoping to beat the Guinness World Record currently held by Mexico City for the number of people bouncing on space hoppers simultaneously for one minute. They need 2,000 people to take part in the sponsored event, which is being supported by Sheffield band Def Leppard. To enter, visit www.bounce forsheffield.org.uk

n Pedal For Pounds: The cycling fundraiser has been held in Leeds for the last four years, but this year a second event will be launched in the south of the county. Cyclists of all ages can take part in the two events which include a 19-mile or 48-mile route. The Leeds event will take place at Harewood House on September 12, with the second cycle at Finningley, near Doncaster on October 3.

For a full list of fundraising events, visit www. ycr.org.uk/events