St Vincent's Institute

The Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC–370 BC) was the first to use the word ‘karkinos’ (meaning crab) to describe a tumour. He chose this word because he thought that the blood vessels that surrounded tumours were crab-like in shape. It is from this description that our words ‘cancer’ and ‘carcinoma’ are derived.

Hippocrates believed that the body was composed of four fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. He thought that an excess of black bile was the cause of cancer: this held true for the next 1400 years.

While the modern understanding of cancer is considerably more advanced, today’s researchers continue to delve into the mysteries of the disease. Dr Mark Waltham, Head of SVI’s Pharmacogenomics Unit, is interested in how the combination of genes and environment affect a person’s ability to fight disease.

Mark explains, “Pharmacogenomics is the study of how an individual’s genetic makeup affects the course of disease and responses to medication. Work in our Unit combines sciences such as biochemistry, with recent advances in our knowledge of genetics and drug discovery. This allows us to identify genes that are involved in disease and help design drugs to stop them from working.”

For some years that group has investigated the culprit genes that contribute to cancer spread. Using world class tools, the group has identified genes that act very early in the metastatic process. It is these genes that are the most attractive potential drug targets, as the earlier the process can be halted, the more successful the treatment will be.

“The most deadly aspect of cancer is its ability to spread”, says Mark. “By identifying the genes involved in this process, we will be able to identify those tumours which are more likely to spread and possibly stop them from doing so.”

The group is also using cutting edge techniques to identify drugs that block the spread of cancer. To this end, they are investigating substances called antioxidants in a number of animal models of cancer, with the aim of identifying their benefits for patients with established and advanced forms of breast cancer.

Through these studies, the researchers hope to further advance our understanding of this deadly disease.