Maltese doctor holds out hope of better cancer treatment

A Maltese doctor who is at the forefront of cancer research in the United Kingdom believes that while a cure for cancer is still a few years away, experts are close to finding a way of managing the disease to enable patients to live longer.

Johann de Bono is a senior lecturer and consultant at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, where he leads a cancer research team.

He said a number of drug trials were underway with the hope of a breakthrough in the treatment of different types of cancer.

In fact, experts believe they have found a way to target cancerous cells and turn cancer into a chronic disease that while needing to be managed would not have such a great effect on the patient's life.

"I think the key thing is that now we have a better understanding of what causes cancer," he said, explaining that since the causes have now been defined, experts are developing drugs that target key cellular changes, that cause cancer. Dr de Bono described these drugs as power switches which turn the cancer off.

"Our knowledge of the molecular biology behind the way cancer cells duplicate is allowing us to make very specific target drugs, with low side effects, which are proving to be very active against cancer," he said. He has a particular interest in pharmacogenetics (the study of how someone's genetic make-up determines how well a medicine works in the body) and prostate cancer.

He said major steps forward were being made with certain drugs, with stunning results. Although these drugs were not chemotherapy drugs, they were revolutionising cancer medicine.

"We are not talking about curing patients; these drugs do not do that. But they control the cancer so that the patient can live for longer periods while the cancer is being managed," he said.

Dr de Bono stressed the importance of continuing with cancer research, because although experts were still some years away from finding a breakthrough cure, they were very close to being able to manage cancer.

Asked about funding, the Maltese doctor, who left the island some years ago but still keeps contact with the island through annual visits, said there was a big discrepancy between funds available for cancer research in Europe and in the United States, with the latter enjoying more investment.

Moreover, funding was not only necessary for research but also once these drugs were approved, because the chances were that in the beginning they would be fairly expensive.

"It will be a significant challenge to fund these drugs and because of their high effectiveness, their use is definitely worth the while," he said.