SCIENTISTS in Newcastle have made a breakthrough in the battle against cancer.
The team, led by Dr Nicola Curtin and based at Newcastle University, has discovered the mechanism by which a new class of drugs disable the cancer cells' inbuilt defences.
Early research, published in Clinical Cancer Research today, suggests that giving the new drugs alongside conventional drugs may make the chemotherapy more effective.
Understanding more about how the drugs, called Parp inhibitors, work in cancer cells will help the team develop new treatments and establish the best way to give the drugs to patients.
The researchers looked at how cancer cells reacted when given Parp inhibitors alongside a type of chemotherapy called topoisomerase I poisons. A naturally-occurring enzyme, Parp helps cancer cells resist the effects of chemotherapy and go on to replicate.
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