Prof Richard Begent

Richard Begent

Cancer Research UK Targeting and Imaging Group, Department of Oncology
UCL Cancer Institute
London

Developing and testing new treatments for cancer

Professor Richard Begent heads the Cancer Research UK Targeting and Imaging Group at the UCL Cancer Institute. He is currently working on new cancer treatments that are designed to specifically attack and kill the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. Using this approach, Professor Begent hopes to develop effective new treatments with fewer side effects than existing drugs.

Professor Begent uses antibodies that bind tightly to the surface of cancer cells, to deliver treatments directly to tumours. One novel type of therapy based on this approach is known as ADEPT.

ADEPT uses antibodies to deliver specific enzymes to the site of the tumour. Patients are then given a harmless 'prodrug' that the enzymes can convert to the toxic form of the drug specifically in the region surrounding the cancer. Professor Begent is now testing this approach in clinical trials.

The researchers are also developing antibodies to deliver cell-killing radiotherapy - an approach known as radioimmunotherapy.

Professor Begent is interested in combining his antibody-based therapies with drugs that target a tumour's blood supply. His team are using sophisticated lab techniques to investigate the benefits of different treatments so that the best combinations can be tested in clinical trials.

In addition to his work in the lab and the clinic, Professor Begent is chairman of the NCRI Informatics Initiative Task Force. This initiative aims to bring together data generated by scientists and doctors working on many different aspects of cancer research and will enable the scientific community to work together more effectively in the fight against cancer.

Listen to an interview with Professor Begent talking about his research into targeted cancer treatments:

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