Prof Gareth Williams

Cancer and research avatar

Cancer Research UK Chromosomal Replication Research Group
Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London
London

Understanding how cells divide, and improving cancer treatment and detection

Based at the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research in London, Professor Gareth Williams and his team are investigating how a group of proteins work together to allow DNA to be copied, a process called DNA replication. His research could also help to find new ways to diagnose cancers such as prostate and bladder cancer.

Faults in these proteins are known to contribute to the development of cancer, and detecting them in urine and other samples might be a useful way to detect certain cancers.

Understanding DNA replication

A large part of Professor Williams' work involves investigating the basic mechanics of DNA replication and the large number of proteins involved in controlling this complex process. This control is very important in ensuring that only healthy cells are replicated, and is often faulty in cancer.

Professor Williams' team is looking at many different aspects of DNA replication, including how the different proteins work together and how the process is switched on and off in cells.

Understanding this will allow researchers to better understand this process and how it goes wrong in cancer. The proteins could be used as targets for new anti-cancer drugs, and could also help doctors to diagnose cancers at an early stage.

Developing new cancer drugs

If scientist could block the proteins involved in copying DNA, they might be able to stop cancer cells from dividing. One of the key players in kicking off the process of DNA replication is a protein called Cdc7.

Together with Cancer Research UK's technology transfer company, Cancer Research Technology, Professor Williams' team has developed a method of testing thousands of chemicals for their ability to block Cdc7 from starting the DNA replication process. This could yield a new generation of cancer drugs that are better targeted at dividing cancer cells and have fewer side-effects.

Detecting cancer early

The proteins Professor Williams and his team are studying include a group called the MCM proteins. These can be faulty in many different types of cancers. The team has shown that measuring the levels of one of the proteins, MCM5, in urine may be useful for diagnosing bladder and prostate cancers.

MCM5 levels can also be measured in fluid taken from the oesophagus (food pipe), and this has shown promise for diagnosing oesophageal cancer.

If the MCM5 test proves to be reliable, it may be helpful not only for diagnosing cancer, but also for monitoring how well treatment is working or checking to see if the cancer has come back.

So the team is co-ordinating a clinical trial involving 3,000 people, to discover how reliable the test is at spotting bladder cancer recurrence.

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