Projects we fund

Overview

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is rare, with only about 55 children in the UK diagnosed each year. But it’s also hard to treat. The treatments available for it haven’t changed much in two decades, and, although they’re effective for some children, they often have side effects which affect their normal development. We’re looking at whether new drugs can help treat RMS more effectively and with less impact on the children.

Sometimes we can find more of certain proteins in tumours than in healthy tissues, which can give us a clue about what to target with new drugs. Dr Zoë has already identified a protein called EZH2 that is present at higher levels in tumour tissue. During this project, she’s going to look more at EZH2 to find out whether drugging it will stop and potentially cure RMS.

What difference will this project make?

During the project, Dr Zoë will determine how much the protein EZH2 is overexpressed in RMS and whether by drugging the protein we can stop and potentially kill these tumours. EZH2 (whose full name is Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2) can be found in higher levels in the tumour tissues, and we already know that some newly developed drugs can stop it working.

Dr Zoë will perform more tests on EZH2 and these drugs in laboratory testing, and she hopes to provide evidence to incorporate these drugs into clinical testing.

If successful, this new, targeted and effective treatment for children affected by RMS may eventually prolong lives and reduce the side effects of treatment.