Cancer Research UK in the News
The Samsung Galaxy S II Swim
Boy-band legend, Ronan Keating, gadget guru Jason Bradbury, ‘fearless’ TV presenter Jenny Frost, former British butterfly swimmer and Olympic medallist Steve Parry, and plucky Pamela Stephenson, made up the team of ten, including two members of the public, who swam across the Irish Sea in Cancer Research UK’s first celebrity led challenge The Samsung Galaxy S II Swim.
The team arrived at the north pier at Wicklow Bay, Ireland after a 35 hours and 18 minutes, 56 mile swimming relay across the Irish Sea to raise £1 million for Cancer Research UK.
Captain of The Samsung Galaxy S II Swim, Ronan Keating, said: “I can’t believe we finally made it to Ireland. Fifty six miles later it’s an incredible achievement and I’m so proud of the team. You can still sponsor the team at www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/theswim ”
Steve Parry, first to touch land said: “I’ve been swimming for the majority of my life and The Swim has been the biggest challenge of my life. It’s been a fantastic team of open water swimmers and adventurous celebrities who have come together for an amazing challenge to raise £1million for Cancer Research UK's life-saving work.”
Two members of the public swam with the celebrity team across the Irish Sea. The two lucky swimmers were picked from a host of people who signed themselves up for swimming trials in Brighton in August. Olly White (33 year old teacher from Devon) and Nikki Fraser (18 year old student from Yorkshire), are both keen open water swimmers and were invaluable members of The Swim team.
After touching down at the north pier in Wicklow Bay the team are now back on the boat and making their way to the Forty Foot in Dunleary where they will get back in the water and swim to land for a second time this morning to greet their friends and family who are waiting anxiously for them on the shore.
You can watch “The Big Celebrity Swim” on Channel 5 on Thursday 22nd September at 9:00 p.m. or if you miss it through their player at http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-big-celebrity-swim
Fundraising Event.
Along with local supporters, Area Volunteer Manager, Miranda Williams has set up the first ever Superman event in Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield. Six of our researchers from the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) team are taking part in this event on 11 September.
Dr Deborah Stocken, Professor Lucinda Billingham, Professor Keith Wheatley, Piers Gaunt, Mousumi Biswas and Cassandra Brookes are usually busy developing clinical trials for cancer treatments, but have teamed up to demonstrate what a bunch of superheroes they really are. The team will be running 9km, avoiding a soaking at two water obstacles, scrambling through a cargo net and sprinting through a field of foam – all whilst dressed in a novelty superhero mask and cape.
Our Birmingham-based staff have banded together to get behind the event with Senior Local Engagement and Development Manager, Debbie Ringham, working alongside Senior Regional Press Officer, Paula Young, not only to secure local press coverage for our researchers, but also by taking part in the event themselves! Debbie, along with Dr Deborah Stocken, was instrumental in getting the group of researchers together for this event.
We currently spend approximately £9 million on research in Birmingham each year which comes entirely from voluntary donations raised through events like this.
These funds go into supporting research at locations like The Cancer Research UK Centre in Birmingham, a leading centre for clinical trials, which aims to fast track new laboratory discoveries into the clinic.
The Centre incorporates the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, where our six Super Man researchers work, which plays a leading role in coordinating larger UK clinical trials for both children and adults with cancer. The unit is home to one of our Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, which develops and tests the latest treatments in early stage clinical trials. It also houses the national Cancer Research UK Children’s Cancer Trials Team which coordinates children’s cancer trials in 21 hospitals across the UK including Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Biostatistician, Piers Gaunt, who is taking part in the event, said: “As biostatisticians, we are responsible for the design and analysis of clinical trials so we see first-hand some of the incredible advances being made in cancer research. Thanks to that research, more people than ever before are surviving cancer. Despite improvements in treatment, we still have a long way to go. One in four people in the UK will die from cancer. With the help of people in the West Midlands we want to change that. That’s why we’ve decided to swap our calculators for capes and join in the Sutton Park Superman challenge.”
Science
Scientists funded by us have discovered how blocking key cell signalling proteins could help boost the success rate of the tumour-shrinking drug paclitaxel.
Paclitaxel is one of a family of drugs originally derived from yew trees that block the growth of cancer by interfering with microtubules – structures that help chromosomes to separate during cell division. It’s commonly used to treat breast and ovarian cancer, but some tumours can become resistant over time and start growing again.
Previous research had found that the loss of a protein called TGFBI – which sends messages that stabilise microtubules – caused paclitaxel to fail.
So to test the theory that microtubule stability may be essential for paclitaxel response, our researchers systematically blocked other signalling proteins in ovarian cancer cells growing in the lab, to see which might alter paclitaxel response.
The international team of researchers, part-funded by us and led by Dr Ahmed Ahmed who is based at the University of Oxford, found that blocking certain proteins stabilised the microtubules and made ovarian cancer cells more sensitive to paclitaxel.
Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager, said: “Overcoming drug resistance is a key challenge for our researchers. Unravelling the genetic basis of cancer to find out what determines whether a patient will respond to treatment will help us take a more targeted approach to tackle this problem. This approach could lead to fewer side effects and provide a lifeline for patients who have stopped responding to conventional treatments.”
Fundraising News
The Innovation team is proud to announce Give Change Make Change is now live on BrandAlley.co.uk. The scheme is a new way to donate to CR-UK while shopping online. It’s like a virtual version of the charity collection tin – with one click you can round up your payment and the money is evenly split between us, British Red Cross, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and WWF.
Sophie High, Head of Innovation Delivery, commented: “The Innovation Team have been busy piloting the project, which has involved everything from meetings at No. 10 Downing Street, to meeting CEOs of retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Debenhams. We have refined and improved the idea and process, and feel confident the scheme is on the crest of a wave with the signing of BrandAlley! BrandAlley offers up to 70% off designer brands across women’s and men’s fashion, beauty, accessories, kidswear and homeware. We hope that people will round-up their payment, having saved so much on their purchases – and for this reason BrandAlley have opted for the round-up on their site be to the nearest £5, e.g. if you spend £36.95 and click the box to round-up, your donation is £3.05, and final payment £40.00. We are really excited to be going live with this well respected e-tailer [online retailer], not only do they have an existing membership of over two million, but they have committed a full marketing launch to tell their members that Give Change Make Change is now live on their checkout. We hope to raise a lot of money through the spare change of BrandAlley shoppers, which can support the work of not just CR-UK, but the very worthy causes of the Give Change Make Change consortium of charities: CR-UK, British Red Cross, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and WWF.”
Diabetes drug starves cancer cells
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how blocking a key controller of energy production in cancer cells and treating them with a diabetes drug, metformin, effectively starves cancer cells. The research was published on Sunday 28 August in Nature Cell Biology.
One of the key characteristics of cancer cells is their ability to divide and grow quickly. To do this they need to switch to a method of producing energy rapidly, which breaks down glucose in a process called glycolysis. By doing this they generate the energy and raw materials needed to create new cells.
The researchers found that this switching is controlled by a protein complex called NF-kB, which controls the balance between different types of energy generation. When glucose supplies run short, NF-kB moves energy generation to an alternative process that doesn’t rely on glucose. But blocking NF-kB in cancer cells leaves them unable to make this switch and so they ultimately die.
By targeting this protein complex, the researchers showed they could kill bowel cancer cells in the lab. To mimic the effect of glucose starvation, the researchers first treated the cancer cells with a molecule that blocks NF-kB, though by itself it has no effect on survival. But when combined with the diabetes drug metformin, which blocks alternative methods of energy production, they effectively besiege the cancer cells so that they starve and die.
Professor Guido Franzoso, lead researcher based at Imperial College London, said: “This is the first time that NF-Kb has been shown to control how cells generate energy. We already knew that NF-kB plays a role in cancer. It is part of a family of regulators that control the immune and inflammation responses and have been shown to promote the disease. Inhibitors of NF-kB are currently used in the clinic to treat cancer patients but have had limited success, due to their side effects. We hope that we can now start exploring the possibility of combining them with metformin as a double hit to increase their effectiveness against cancer.”
Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer cells need a rapid supply of energy to grow and divide and understanding how they generate energy is an exciting area of research. By blocking energy production, effectively starving the cells, researchers have revealed a new way to selectively attack cancer cells leaving normal cells unharmed.”
Designer Wedding Favors
Following the success of last year’s cupcake badge, the Fundraising Products team is very excited to announce that luxury designer and stylist to the stars, Jenny Packham, has created a second collection of wedding favours exclusively for CR-UK.
Jenny Packham is known for her stunning and hugely sought after wedding dresses and has recently seen her popularity grow even more with her ready to wear collections. Her creations are often seen gracing world famous stars, and HRH Catherine Middleton has recently been pictured in a number Jenny Packham’s dresses.
Created in her signature art-deco style, Jenny Packham has created a beautiful silver swallow with a pink gem stone eye and a pretty shooting star in pink. Both pin badges can be ordered with personalised favour cards and are a meaningful keepsake for any celebration - perfect for weddings, anniversaries and birthdays.
The elegant designs are available to order now from the Give in Celebration website and there is a minimum suggested donation of £2.50 per guest.
Visit www.giveincelebration.org/favours to place an order. Please allow 28 days for delivery.
Gift lists that help beat cancer
Did you know that CR-UK has its own gift list service? Give in Celebration is an online gift list where guests to your wedding, birthday, anniversary or christening can donate to Cancer Research UK in lieu of, or as well as presents. You can create a page and personalised it very quickly, and sent it out to guests by email or through social networks. There is also a selection of printed materials that you can use to notify friends and family. Give in Celebration is a fantastic way to mark a special occasion and raise funds to help beat cancer.
For more information about Give in Celebration and to create your own fundraising page, please go to www.giveincelebration.org
Shine
Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis
Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis, professional swimmer Mark Foster and Soccer AM’s Helen Chamberlain have been captured in a dazzling new light to encourage men and women to support CR-UK’s night-time walking marathon Shine.
The trio, who all have a connection to cancer, stripped off and were body painted with dramatic UV designs inspired by images of cancer cells to show their support for Shine, which takes place on Saturday 1 October at London’s O2 to raise vital funds for research into cancer.
Denise Lewis, OBE, says: “Like most families mine has been touched by cancer. That’s why I decided to disrobe and get body painted to show my support for Cancer Research UK’s night-time walking marathon Shine. Taking part in an event like Shine is a great way for men and women to get fit whilst raising money for a great cause at the same time.”
Professional swimmer and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Mark Foster says: “Even on Strictly I never sparkled this much! I’m proud to get painted to help support Cancer Research UK’s night-time walking marathon Shine which is coming to London for the first time this October. All friends, families and colleagues should join forces, sign up now and get in training for the experience of a lifetime!”
Mark Foster
Shine symbolises the light Cancer Research UK’s doctors, nurses and scientists bring to the lives of people affected by cancer through life-saving research. Shine is taking place on Saturday 1 October in London and is open to all men and women aged over 13. The charity hopes that more than 8,000 men and women will take part to help raise £1.4 million.
Walkers can choose between a full or half marathon route, and have the opportunity to decide to raise funds for a specific area of cancer research including breast cancer, lung cancer and leukaemia.
Shine will also be taking place in Glasgow on 10 September.
Emma Gilbert, CR-UK's Head of Events Marketing says: “Denise, Mark and Helen look truly fantastic and we’re delighted they’ve chosen to support our night-time walking marathon Shine. We’re inviting thousands of men and women to take part in Shine, light up the night and help symbolise the effort, dedication and progress of Cancer Research UK and its supporters. Joining together in this empowering event is a fantastic way to make a difference and help CR-UK in the fight against this terrible disease which will affect more than one in three people.”
Places are limited so don’t miss out and sign up now at www.cancerresearchuk.org/shine.