CENTRAL OXFORDSHIRE Inside Thousands expected at this week: Dragon Boat Day p3 Thursday, September 5 - Wednesday, September 11, 2013
FFRREE EE IN INSSIIDE
Make your next move
www.oxfordpropertyw eekly.co.uk
Like Us On… www.facebook.com/OxfordshireGuardian
Established 1988 Issue No.
1,231
Thursday, September 5 - Wednesday, Septem ber 11,
2013
FREE Please take a copy
Advertising/Newsdesk: 01235 511700
www.oxfordshireguardian.co.uk
Big Feastival’s such a big success
see p17
HOPE FOR BLOOD DISEASE VICTIMS A NEW test could hopefully bring about better treatment for people suffering from blood disorders, according to an Oxford University study. It is hoped a routine test can help guide individual treatment for people with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) disorders. In patients with MDS, normal blood production breaks down, with healthy cells underproduced and the bone marrow crowded with defective cells. Symptoms progress differently
Researchers’ work seen as ‘significant step’ forward By James Booker jamesb@taylornewspapers.co.uk
in MDS sufferers, with up to 40 per cent of cases develop into leukaemia. MDS is diagnosed in around 2,000 people in the UK every year and can be treated in many ways, but it is vital to establish the prognosis of each patient indi-
vidually to consider appropriate treatment. The Oxford team used ‘gene expression profi ling’ i.e. scanning the activity levels of thousands of genes at the same time. The leader of the research team, Professor Jacqueline Boultwood, said: “Profi ling of these genetic markers will help to deliver a more accurate and consistent prognosis for MDS
patients. Identifying those at risk enables doctors to give early intensive treatment to those who need it most.” The university also said the test worked effectively on routine bone marrow samples taken from MDS patients, which removes the need to purify leukaemic stem cells. Gene expression profi ling was found to outperform other meth-
ods currently used by doctors. The study followed patients’ progress for an average of four years, and found a significant link between the activity of a set of 20 genes and long-term survival. The relationship between fatality and two other genes was particularly strong, with the ‘WT1’ gene consistently overactive and ‘LEF1’ gene underactive in
MDS patients with poor survival times. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, was funded by blood cancer charity Leukaemia and Lymphona Research. Professor Chris Bunce, the charity’s research director, said: “This research represents a significant step towards tailoring treatment for individual MDS patients.”