THE North-East is set to become the world leader in developing new cancer drugs, thanks to a donation from the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, it was revealed last night.
Scientists at Newcastle University said the £625,000 donation from the North-East charity had allowed them to purchase a cyclotron - “the missing link” in a lineup of equipment which should allow them to become world-beaters.
The addition of a mini-cyclotron to other advanced pieces of equipment - including a state-of-the-art PET (Positron EmissionTomography) scanner - means scientists at Newcastle have been given a massive advantage over their rivals in other parts of the world.
The new cyclotron is the first of its kind in Europe and only the second of its kind in the world. Its purchase means that the highly successful cancer drug development unit headed by Professor Herbie Newell will now be able to link up with the new investigative and diagnostic unit, to be known as the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation PET Trace Production Unit.
Prof Newell said the line-up of equipment now available to Tyneside scientists, contained in a suite of rooms at Newcastle University, was “unique” in the world and would give his colleagues a great advantage.
The purchase of the American-made cyclotron - an Advanced Biomarker Technology Molecular Imaging Generator - means that when the Newcastle University team are given full permission by the authorities they will be able to use the cyclotron to produce radioactive tracing elements which can be injected into patients with cancer and other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Prof Newell said positively charged water molecules would be attached to a substance such as sugar and injected into patients suffering from cancer.
Because the most active cancer cells will grow when exposed to sugar this will tell specialist doctors whether the cancer is treatable and what might be the best way to treat it.
The use of radioactive isotopes attached to tracers will also help specialists to target treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The cyclotron’s ability to produce radioactive isotopes will also help cancer researchers to get a better understanding of how cancer cells develop and grow, and to come up with new strategies to kill them off.
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation was set up in memory of the County Durham-born former manager of Newcastle United and England who died in 2009.
Newcastle University provided more than £600,000 towards the overall cost of the project.