Researchers at the University of Oxford have launched a pioneering project to tackle crippling bone pain suffered by thousands of cancer patients.
An estimated 30,000 people every year develop this cancer-induced pain linked to a destructive and hugely debilitating bone disease caused by their cancers. It affects people with primary bone tumours, bone marrow cancers such as multiple myeloma and other forms, such as breast and prostate cancer, that commonly spread to bone.
Dr Claire Edwards, associate professor of bone oncology at the University of Oxford, is leading the research project, believed to be the first of its kind. She said: “The major clinical feature of this cancer-induced bone disease is significant and life-altering bone pain but it’s the thing that we understand least.
“We believe that tumour cells increase the expression of molecules that promote pain. Our goal is to identify and understand pain-related changes in patients with cancer-induced bone disease so that new approaches to target this pain can be developed.”
Not only is little understood about the causes of the acute bone pain but it is also very difficult to manage. The two-year Oxford project is being funded by Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK), one of the country’s leading charities working to improve the lives of people with bone and joint disease and injury. ORUK chief executive, Dr Arash Angadji, said: “Cancerinduced bone pain is a devastating and debilitating feature of tumour growth within bones.
“Surprisingly, despite its major clinical impact, there is limited research in this area and a poor understanding of how and why the pain develops. This research will be a key step in the goal of developing new, safe and effective approaches to managing cancer induced bone pain which will improve the quality of lives of so many people.”
ORUK has awarded grants of more than £9m to leading universities, NHS Trusts and research centres across the UK and overseas. It aims to raise a further £2.5m over the next three years to support translational orthopaedic research that has the best chance of delivering real and meaningful benefits for patients.
