Developing pain-killer neurons to treat chronic pain in advanced cancer
Background
When cancer spreads to bone – as it commonly does in advanced cases of breast and prostate cancer – it can cause significant and constant pain which often has a devastating effect on the quality of life of patients and emotionally impacts their family and loved ones. Current medications for pain do not provide effective relief. When the pain becomes too severe, patients will often abandon chemotherapy designed to slow the progress of their cancer, leaving sufferers in untreatable pain at the end of their life.
The research
Dr Muralidharan and his colleagues have recently discovered that loss of function of spinal pain supressing neurons is a critical step in the development of chronic pain in bone. They also found that by restoring these neurons, they can reduce pain. In this project, the team will investigate how these vital pain supressing neurons control pain in advanced breast and prostate cancer by studying the molecular characteristics of the neurons. They’ll then use this information to develop a stem cell-based pain therapy. To ensure this potential new treatment is cost effective and accessible, the team will bioengineer an “off the shelf” stem cell therapy rather than using a patients’ own stem cells.
The impact
The team hope to create effective, universally compatible pain-killer neurons that bypass the immune system and provide effective pain relief for patients with advanced breast and prostate cancer suffering from debilitating pain in their bone. The project will also allow them to generate long-term efficacy and safety data needed to progress their work towards a clinical trial in the future. While the team are focussed on advanced breast cancer and prostate cancer in this project, their new approach to pain relief could benefit any patients with cancer in their bone.