Province of East Kent

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia is an aggressive cancer that affects the blood-producing cells in the bone marrow.
Almost 2,000 people are diagnosed with AML each year in the United Kingdom, making it one of the most common forms of leukaemia.

Dr Peter Nicholls and his colleagues at the University of Kent are exploring the use of a relatively new technique called radioimmunotherapy to treat patients with AML. In this form of treatment, radioactive particles are attached to special antibodies that are designed to bind only to the cancer cells. Radioimmunotherapy treatment has already been used to successfully treat patients with lymphoma, another form of blood cancer. The researchers have developed a new version of the treatment for patients with AML. They hope that this new treatment will kill the cancer cells more effectively than chemotherapy while at the same time minimising the damage to normal cells.
 

In this one-year project, the researchers will prepare for a clinical trial by carrying out the necessary preliminary studies to determine the effectiveness and safety of the new treatment. If the findings from the preliminary studies are promising, it will offer new hope to patients with AML, especially older patients who are often unable to cope with the side effects of chemotherapy.

 

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