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Success in treating established cancer by chemotherapy, surgery or radiotherapy
remains limited, making chemoprevention by dietary constituents or
medicines an important and promising alternative strategy in the
management of malignancy. In terms of reducing cancer incidence, epidemiological
studies suggest that enormous benefit might be derived from dietary manipulation or
supplementation. However, there is still much uncertainty as to which dietary constituents exhibit
chemopreventive activity and, moreover, at which dose such efficacy is
observed without adverse effect. A more detailed understanding of the carcinogenic process, and the way in
which chemopreventive agents inhibit it, is therefore essential.
Such understanding would facilitate the design of more effective
clinical intervention protocols, and/or prophylactic drug strategies for
individuals at particular risk of developing cancer. Characterisation
of the chemopreventive activity of food constituents will ultimately
help formulate dietary advice for the general population. Such
research has the potential to improve, in a fundamental way,
the health of the nation by greatly reducing the cancer burden. |
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The
aims of the Group’s research programme include the
characterisation of diet-derived cancer chemopreventive agents and
their mechanisms of action, preparation of potentially promising
agents for clinical evaluation, their pharmacokinetic and
pharmacodynamic evaluation and finally the use of promising agents
in the clinic.To date curcumin, a component of turmeric, has progressed
through all of these stages as a potential agent for prevention of colon cancer. A
key feature of the Group is the unique combination of chemical,
biochemical, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and oncological
expertise.
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