Scientists in Glasgow have made a significant breakthrough that could lead to new, targeted treatments for some of the most challenging forms of bowel and liver cancer.
Hijacking the Body's Growth System
The research, led by experts at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute and the University of Glasgow, focused on genetic faults that allow cancer to take over a crucial internal signalling pathway. This system, known as the WNT pathway, normally tells cells when to grow and when to stop. Cancers in the intestine and liver can hijack this pathway, leading to uncontrolled tumour growth.
Publishing their findings in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics, the team identified that a specific protein called nucleophosmin (NPM1) is found at high levels in certain bowel and liver cancers. This overproduction is a direct result of the genetic errors corrupting the WNT pathway.
A Safe Target for New Therapies
The critical discovery is that blocking the NPM1 protein could stop these cancers in their tracks. Professor Owen Sansom, director of the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute and the project's lead researcher, explained the potential: "Because NPM1 isn't essential for normal adult tissue health, blocking it could be a safe way to treat certain cancers, like some hard-to-treat bowel and liver cancers."
The study revealed that removing NPM1 disrupts cancer cells' ability to produce proteins correctly. This disruption, in turn, activates a natural tumour suppressor, effectively halting cancer growth. "We found that if NPM1 is removed, cancer cells struggle to make proteins properly and this allows a tumour suppressor to activate, preventing cancer growth," Professor Sansom stated.
Addressing a Pressing Health Crisis
This research arrives at a crucial time. Scotland has some of the highest rates of bowel and liver cancer in the UK. Approximately 4,200 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, and it remains the second most common cause of cancer death in Scotland, claiming around 1,700 lives annually. Furthermore, about 670 people die from liver cancer each year in Scotland.
Alarmingly, a recent study highlighted that early-onset bowel cancer rates are rising globally, with increases among young adults aged 25-49 in Scotland and England being particularly sharp, especially in young women.
The work forms part of the SpecifiCancer project, co-funded by Cancer Research UK and the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, which aims to understand why some cancer-causing genes only target specific organs. While the current focus is on bowel and liver cancers, the team believes the findings could pave the way for treatments for other cancer types.
The next step is to develop medical treatments that can effectively block the production of the NPM1 protein. Existing therapies can slow tumour growth, so a new drug targeting NPM1 could provide a safer and more effective treatment option for patients with limited choices.
Dr David Scott, director of Cancer Grand Challenges, hailed the work: "Scientific breakthroughs like this demonstrate the power of Cancer Grand Challenges to bring together the world's best minds to transform our understanding of how cancer starts and, crucially, how we treat it. By scrutinising the fundamental processes that drive cancer, we can tackle the disease at its beginnings."
