Can we grow the treatments of tomorrow?

09/02/21 • 32 min

From malaria to multiple sclerosis, plants have given us compounds which help treat countless conditions. But could a tree growing on your street hold the next life-changing drug?

From Madagascar to a Kew Gardens in London, we explore how scientists across the globe use indigenous knowledge and pharmaceutical science to help develop the treatments of tomorrow.

And in a world-first, a cannabis-derived drug, known as Sativex, is being trialled in combination with chemotherapy to see if it could be used to help people with a certain type of aggressive brain cancer.

The botanical history of medicine (2:04)
How do we find the plant medicines of tomorrow? (6:10)
The search for a chemical needle in a botanical haystack (9:09)
Making drugs: converting cuttings into capsules (14:02)
Is it more complex than putting a leaf in a pill? (18:28)
Sativex: trialling a cannabis-derived spray on brain cancer (22:50)
Do we know how cannabinoids work on brain tumour cells? (26:51)
Cannabis and cancer: it's not that simple (28:43)

ARISTOCRAT is a randomised phase II study of temozolomide with or without cannabinoids in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

It's being funded by The Brain Tumour Charity and co-ordinated by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham.

ARISTOCRAT is due to begin recruiting just over 230 patients across all UK nations in early 2022.

To learn more about the ARISTOCRAT trial, you can check out:

If you’d like to talk to someone, our nurses are available Monday to Friday 9-5pm on freephone 0808 800 4040.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From malaria to multiple sclerosis, plants have given us compounds which help treat countless conditions. But could a tree growing on your street hold the next life-changing drug?

From Madagascar to a Kew Gardens in London, we explore how scientists across the globe use indigenous knowledge and pharmaceutical science to help develop the treatments of tomorrow.

The botanical history of medicine (2:04)
How do we find the plant medicines of tomorrow? (6:10)
The search for a chemical needle in a botanical haystack (9:09)
Making drugs: converting cuttings into capsules (14:02)
Is it more complex than putting a leaf in a pill? (18:28)
Sativex: trialling a cannabis-derived spray on brain cancer (22:50)
Do we know how cannabinoids work on brain tumour cells? (26:51)
Cannabis and cancer: it's not that simple (28:43)

ARISTOCRAT is a randomised phase II study of temozolomide with or without cannabinoids in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

It's being funded by The Brain Tumour Charity and co-ordinated by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham.

ARISTOCRAT is due to begin recruiting just over 230 patients across all UK nations in early 2022.

To learn more about the ARISTOCRAT trial, you can check out:

If you’d like to talk to someone, our nurses are available Monday to Friday 9-5pm on freephone 0808 800 4040.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Will cancer make me infertile?

For the first episode of That Cancer Conversation, we explore infertility and cancer.

From teenage body worries to an intercontinental surrogacy story, we chat to Max, Kreena and Eleanor – 3 people whose cancer journeys affected their fertility in some way.

Is freezing sperm and egg cells the only option? Not necessarily.

We sit down with Professor Richard Anderson, deputy director of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Reproductive Health, to explore options that are available and what the future of fertility medicine could look like.

If you would like to learn more about cancer and fertility, here are some resources:

· Cancer Fertility and Me

· Fertility and chemotherapy

· Your options and coping with losing your fertility

If you’d like to talk to someone, Cancer Research UK nurses are available Monday to Friday 9-5pm on freephone 0808 800 4040.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Black in Cancer

This episode, we're joined by Sigourney Bell, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, whose work looks to find new treatments for supratentorial ependymoma, a rare children's brain cancer.

Outside of the lab, Sigourney is the co-founder of Black in Cancer, a global organisation that aims to strengthen the network between Black people in the cancer space whilst highlighting Black excellence in cancer research and medicine.

During Black History Month, Black in Cancer runs a week of events across various social media platforms and organises webinars to help educate researchers, medical experts, and those affected by cancer.

We hear about what the challenges are of working on a rare children's cancer, find out what led to the founding of Black in Cancer, and learn what's on the agenda from October 10th - 15th for Black in Cancer Week 2021.

How to find out more about Black in Cancer: