A “game-changing” discovery of a new way to kill leukaemia cells is the first major breakthrough at the $200 million South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).

SAHMRI and the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Personalised Cancer Medicine, made the discovery, which researchers say presents a new treatment strategy with a significant reduction in side-effects for patients.

The new treatment strategy involves the simple manipulation of a common protein when used with existing drugs which already have approval.

Blocking the protein, in conjunction with short periods of intense therapy, appears to influence the cancer cells to kill themselves, contrasting with the current requirement for continuous treatment and debilitating side-effects.

Currently the Beat Cancer Project at SAHMRI is funding over 70 research initiatives (including project grants, fellowships, infrastructure grants, and travel grants and scholarships) covering a broad spectrum of cancer related topics and some of the most common cancers affecting South Australians.

Cancer news sourced from http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/sahmri-and-university-of-adelaides-centre-for-personalised-cancer-medicine-discovery-of-a-new-way-to-kill-leukaemia-cells/