This Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we take a closer look at the spread of lung cancer and hear from Cure Cancer funded researcher Dr Clare Weeden about the work she is doing to help improve the outlook for patients.
With over two million cases every year, lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Sadly, it is also the leading cause of cancer death, resulting in 1.76 million deaths annually.
Lung cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow in an uncontrolled way in one or both lungs . There are two main types of lung cancer; non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. The most common non-small cell lung cancers are:
Adenocarcinoma: Begins in mucus producing cells and is most commonly diagnosed in current or former smokers, although it is also the most common lung cancer in non-smokers.
Squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinoma: Commonly develops in the larger airways of the lung.
Small cell lung cancer usually begins in the middle of the lungs and spreads more quickly than non-small cell cancer.
It often spreads (metastasises) to other parts of the body before the cancer can be detected in the lungs. The biological differences between the ‘primary’ lung cancers and their metastases are not known and without this information we are unable to find a cure.
Lung cancer researcher Dr Clare Weeden is passionate that more work needs to be done in this field.
You can help fund Cure Cancer researchers like Clare by donating today to help continue more life-saving research.
Clare’s Research
Based at the Walter & Eliza Hall Medical Institute, Dr Clare Weeden is looking for unique properties of metastatic cells with an aim to develop new, targeted therapies for lung cancer patients. ‘By profiling cancer and immune cells from primary tumours and metastases from lung cancer patients, we are looking to identify the precise molecules involved in lung cancer metastasis, which could reveal new drug targets,’ says Clare. ‘We hope our discoveries will improve treatment options, offering personalised medicine, especially for those patients with advanced disease.’
Clare and her colleagues have already discovered stem cells in healthy lungs that are likely to cause the second most common type of lung cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, which mainly affects smokers and ex-smokers. Identifying the “cells-of-origin” of cancers may also allow the team to detect them growing before they turn into advanced disease. ‘I feel proud of the experiments we’ve done, amazed at what we’ve found and excited about what comes next,’ she says.
Her interest in lung cancer research transpired while studying for her PHD at the University of Melbourne. It was her supervisor who encouraged her to participate in research outside the lab by speaking and volunteering at lung cancer awareness events. ‘At these events, I met incredible lung cancer patients including Lisa Briggs, Kym Wood and Hynda Feldman, who spoke so eloquently about challenges they face. They all fight for lung cancer research and for things to be better for the next generation. It’s hard to not be inspired when you meet people like them.’
No scientific discovery could happen without funding and in an increasingly competitive field, Cure Cancer grants are ‘incredibly important,’ Clare says. Her grant means she can ask challenging research questions and use state-of-the-art technologies to interrogate them.
‘Everyone has felt the impact of cancer, personally or through loved ones,’ says Clare. ‘Hearing about their experiences opens your eyes to the reality of treatment and keeps me focused on what matters. It’s a constant reminder that a small discovery in the lab may make a difference to the next generation of patients.’
‘Whilst cancer is scary, ultimately, it’s a disease with treatment options,’ she adds. ‘In the past five years, there have been remarkable improvements in treatments, quality of life and cancer-free survival for patients, and the odds will continue to improve with more research.’
Clare works under the supervision of Associate Professors Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat and Daniel Gray at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne.
Resource:
WHO