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Will you help us find a treatment for sarcoma?
Each year, many thousands of people all around the world will endure a disease that disproportionately affects children, adolescents and young adults, is poorly understood, can only be fought using brutal treatments and still has a bleak outcome.
But Dr Darrell Green at UEA thinks he can change that:
Current treatments for sarcoma – cancers of the connective tissue such as bone and muscle - are debilitating and carry long-term side effects for those who do survive. Limb amputation is sometimes required. Heart and kidney toxicity is common. We're developing new medicines that specifically target cancer cells and leave the rest of the body alone.
Not only could Dr Green's research help spare those with sarcoma from life-altering treatments, but it could also save lives. Long-term survival for sarcoma stands at just ~50% - that means half of children and young people diagnosed will not live to see adulthood. However, Dr Green and his team have developed a novel medicine that could stop the spread and the aggressiveness of sarcoma. Dr Green calls this molecule ‘CADD522’, known as Bensofib in our project.
CADD522 is ready to be tested
Initial studies have shown that CADD522 is effective (and without side effects) in stopping the spread of bone sarcomas (and muscle sarcoma studies are taking place), but the next milestone is to prove this in clinical trials with patients. To do that, the team are looking for funding to produce the medicine on a mass scale and to carry out vital toxicology studies, to discover the safest and most effective dose of CADD522. Sarcoma research is critically underfunded when compared to other types of cancer and receives almost no investment from traditional avenues of funding, so UEA is hoping to raise the money needed through the generosity of philanthropists.
The work that we've carried out so far was the biggest breakthrough in almost 50 years (since chemotherapy was introduced) and it was only possible thanks to philanthropy. We hope that UEA's generous supporters can help us reach our next goal and make a real difference to the lives of those affected by sarcoma.
How you can help
Please donate now to UEA’s Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Research – Sarcoma. Your support could help fund the toxicology and clinical trials needed to test CADD522 (known as Bensofib in our project) and make this treatment available to start saving lives as soon as possible.
To find out more or to make a larger gift, please get in touch with the Development Office by email at giving@uea.ac.uk or by telephone on +44(0)7990 438106.