Supporting research into prostate cancer
A legacy donation received by York Against Cancer is being used to give £100,000 to the prostate cancer research team headed by Professor Norman Maitland, the university’s chair of molecular biology.
A generous gift
The bequest from former farmer Robert Edward Smith, known as Edward, is funding a range of projects, and Mr Smith specifically wished his legacy to support research into prostate cancer.
Professor Maitland, who has been investigating prostate cancer for many years, expressed his gratitude for the donation, stating that this type of generosity is ‘the lifeblood of cancer research.’
Professor Maitland stated that the funding would help his team to develop drug treatments that are hoped may kill off the rogue cells that make prostate cancer a complex disease.
Working with the Hull York Medical School
The prostate cancer research team has been working with the Hull York Medical School, analysing samples from prostate cancer patients who allow the researchers to study their tissue. The research is employing real tumours from patients who have prostate cancer at this moment, rather than old established laboratory models, which may bear little resemblance to the actual disease.
“We’re working with companies who have made drugs that they think will kill stem cells, but don’t have the tools to prove it,” said Professor Maitland. ”We have a number of agents we think can kill the stem cells, and we are trying to find the best way to do this. These are such special cells; our objective is to kill the cancer cells but leave the important normal stem cells untouched.”
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