Treatment advance over prostate cancer

About a third of prostate cancer patients go on to suffer a recurrence of the disease despite radiation treatment.

But now scientists at York University, funded by the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research (YCR), have identified radiation-resistant cancer cells.

They believe that by combining low doses of an anti-cancer drug with radiotherapy, they can better tackle the remaining disease.

Professor Norman Maitland, the director of the YCR Cancer Research Unit at York, said: “There is a population of cells in every cancer that is highly resistant to radiotherapy. By identifying these cells, we have pinpointed what we need to target.”

Researcher Fiona Frame, who was part of the investigating team, said: “Looking to the future, novel cancer treatment strategies must become more targeted and will require specific combination therapies tailored to different cell types within individual tumour types.”

The York team achieved international recognition in 2005 when they became the first to identify prostate cancer stem cells, which are believed to be the root cause of the cancer.

Scientists, now supported by a £2.15m award from the charity, have since explored the properties allowing the cells to spread, survive and resist aggressive treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.