Cancer Research UK Annual Review 2011/12

8 | Our scientists are finding the answers
Rising to the challenge of
personalising treatment
Why do cancer drugs work for some people
but not others Why do they sometimes stop
working Why is cancer so difficult to cure after
it has spread How can we develop better tests
that predict how it will progress Our scientists
are working hard to answer these questions.
We know our
enemy better
now, but we still
have a lot more
work to do.
Professor
Charlie Swanton
A major study by Professor Charlie Swanton,
at our London Research Institute, has revealed
more about how tumours develop and change
over time. His findings have big implications for the
way we understand cancer. We want to harness
this knowledge to develop better treatments and
personalise them for each patient.
Cutting-edge study
Professor Swanton led a three-year study analysing
the DNA from a series of kidney cancer tissue
samples. Using state-of-the-art technology,
his team of scientists looked in unprecedented
detail at different parts of patients’ tumours and
how they relate to each other.
We care about every cancer patient – that’s why we’re investing in new ways to tailor treatment.