Research funded by the Irish Cancer Society, the Health Research Board (HRB) and the DCU Educational Trust has revealed a new target for the potential future treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The findings, from a study led by Dr Dermot Walls, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the School of Biotechnology in DCU, are the first indication that the Bfl1 protein plays a crucial role in prolonging the survival of malignant Hodgkin/Reed- Sternberg (HRS) cells.
“The research conveys how these malignant HRS cells, which represent a small fraction of the tumour mass,are vital to its development. For years we have been trying to understand exactly what it is that makes these cells grow out of control,” said Dr Walls.
For the first time, we have demonstrated that a key cell protein, Bfl1, known to prolong the survival of a cell, is often present and active in HRS cells. This shows the first indication that Bfl1 plays a crucial role in promoting the survival of some HRS cells, making it a candidate target of interest for future treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”
The research was published on the front cover of the leading scientific journal International Journal of Cancer (IJC). Also speaking about the findings, lead researcher Dr Sinead Loughran said that, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a disease that has become highly curable.
“Not so fortunate, though, are the effects long-term toxic treatments can have on young patients, which in the past has resulted in some fatalities.” She added: “The therapeutic challenge that brings a significant future promise is to try and minimise treatment-associated residual disease.
There is an urgency to develop treatments that can target and neutralise specific cell proteins that are responsible for promoting cancer cell survival. As a result we are hoping that targeting Bfl-1 protein could prove to be a successful strategy.”
Professor John Fitzpatrick, Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, praised the research and said: “The aim of cancer research is to improve the treatments and methods of diagnosis for different types of cancer. More than 100 people are diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Ireland every year.
Thankfully recent advances in chemotherapy regimes have made this disease highly treatable, and now we hope that this research will help to progress new therapies that will limit the treatment-associated residual disease experienced by many. The Irish Cancer Society is proud to have supported this research and hopes the results will make a real difference to people living with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the future.”
Image courtesy of SeanMacEntee, Creative Commons
