"Is there a cure for cancer yet?" Why the answer is Yes and No

During tumour treatment, some cancer cells fall asleep for long periods, becoming invisible to therapy. Although cancer seems gone, these sleepwalking dormant cells can awaken, allowing the tumour to regrow. Understanding the sleeping habit of cells can open new horizons for better therapies. Can we hunt sleepwalking breast cancer cells before the alarm goes off? Our team at The Institute of Cancer Research is on it!

Radiotherapy is one of our oldest cancer therapies and can be hugely effective. But, as cancer patients will know, it can also damage non-cancer tissues causing unpleasant side effects. So, how do we make this important treatment better? The answer may be ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles. Microbubbles can be injected into the bloodstream and make cancer cells more sensitive to radiotherapy, by activating them with ultrasound. Join us to learn about how this innovative approach could lead to better results, fewer side effects and bring us closer to more effective, kinder treatments.

The human body regenerates constantly using cell division, millions of times a day in every human. Mistakes are rare, but when they do happen, cells can dodge normal editing systems and grow into tumours. However, cells in tumours have special characteristics that can in fact be used as weaknesses to kill them, while normal cells do not become damaged – meaning cancer patients could be treated without becoming sick in the process. I will discuss some ways in which we are working to identify these cancer cells and how we can use what we find to treat each cancer differently.