Meet the pioneering scientists working to ‘cure cancer’ in new Channel 4 show

Scientists appearing on a new Channel 4 documentary have shared more about their “groundbreaking” research into curing and treating cancer. The three-part series Cancer Detectives: Finding the Cures focuses on the future of cancer detection, treatment and vaccines.

The team noted that “progress” into this area has already been made, even suggesting that in the future cancer could be considered a “manageable, long-term condition”. So far the television series has followed Professor Sarah Blagden, who is developing a lung cancer prevention vaccine in what she calls a “once in a generation opportunity” and neurosurgeon Richard Mair, who helps patients with hard-to-treat brain cancers.

It its final episode, airing on Thursday, December 4,  it will feature Professor Caroline Dive, who is working on blood tests to detect cancer before it shows up on a scan. On top of this, the show will also feature patients and families undergoing life-saving treatments.

Speaking about his work, Associate Professor Richard Mair, from the University of Cambridge and Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge, explained: “What makes this trial different is that we are constantly learning and adapting how we deliver medicines. Right now, we currently look at specific faulty genes to decide if a treatment might be successful.

“There are several exciting possibilities, from early detection and faster treatments to shifting cancer into a manageable, long-term condition. Much like high blood pressure, we could monitor and adjust treatment regularly based on how the treatment is benefiting the individual at that moment in time.

“The ability to monitor and treat people dynamically, rather than giving a couple of treatments and hoping for the best would be a paradigm shift for brain cancer care. What excites me most is the potential of harnessing the immune system more effectively. 

“It already plays a key role in finding and attacking cancer cells, but if we can empower it to do even more, that could be a game-changing approach across many cancer types but especially brain cancer where current immune-based treatments have been disappointing.”

Prof Sarah Blagden, who is the main focus of episode one in the series, explained how her work could pave the way for cancer vaccines. She said: “When someone has just been diagnosed with cancer, they tend to think it has taken a year or two to develop in their bodies but we now realise it can take much longer than that, even decades in some cases.

“It actually starts as a precancer, a very small cluster of abnormal cells that look cancerous but don’t have all of the features of a cancer. An example is a bowel polyp. 

“We know that some but not all polyps eventually turn into colorectal cancer but, biologically-speaking, polyps are quite different from a tumour. It is wrong to imagine that they are miniature versions of colorectal cancer.”

She continued: “That’s why I liken precancers to a cocoon that is very different from the fully grown moth. This helps explain why many cancer blood tests (like the colorectal cancer CEA test or the prostate cancer PSA test for example) – that reliably detect advanced cancers – aren’t so good at detecting them at the early, cocoon stage. 

“When we are thinking of prevention vaccines, we need to design them to teach the immune system to recognise the earliest changes in precancers (the cocoon stage) so we can really nip cancer in the bud.”

Thursday’s episode will focus on the work of Prof Caroline Dive, from the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre and University of Manchester. In the programme viewers will see how she is developing liquid blood tests so sensitive they can detect cancer before it’s visible on a scan. 

Find out about the symptoms you need to watch out for and get health advice with our free health newsletter from the Daily Express

It is hoped her research could revolutionise early diagnosis and treatment for millions. Prof Dive said: “Detecting cancers early through a blood test, before they’d appear on a scan, is a huge global ambition. 

“While progress is being made, it remains a considerable challenge, with some cancer types proving much harder to detect than others. We look for many different types of molecules in the blood but we typically study fragments of DNA shed by dying cancer cells, called circulating tumour DNA.

“These DNA fragments can be analysed using different scientific techniques to spot signs of cancer, such as sequencing for cancer-associated mutations or assessing DNA fragment lengths that distinguish cancer cells from normal ones. Some new technologies are sensitive enough to detect signs of cancer that are present in really low amounts in the blood.”

However, she added: “But creating a test that is sensitive and specific enough to reliably detect all early cancers is a huge challenge and should not be underestimated.” During this episode audiences will also meet mechanic Lee, 58, who is a medical mystery. 

Doctors can’t find where his cancer started, so could Caroline’s pioneering blood tests help? And another patient featured in the show, Damian, 49, hopes to join a trial to test if his recent skin cancer will come back so he can move on with family life.  

Jonah Weston, commissioning editor at Channel 4, commented: “Cancer Detectives: Finding the Cures shines a light on the groundbreaking scientific research currently taking place to detect, prevent and treat cancer. It has been great to partner with Dragonfly and Cancer Research UK on this series and see these amazing scientists at work, as they make amazing breakthroughs already benefitting patients in ways that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.”

You can watch episode three of Cancer Detectives: Finding the Cures on Channel 4 on Thursday, December 4 at 10pm. Or all three episodes are currently available to stream on channel4.com.