Irish scientists have won a prestigious European prize after making a discovery, which could reduce the spread of bowel cancer to other parts of the body.

Dr Aideen Ryan of NUI Galway and her colleagues found that switching off a specific protein in bowel cancer cells can trigger an anti-tumour response, reducing the spread of the disease to other parts of the body.

The research, which was funded by the Irish Cancer Society (ICS), has been awarded the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) Young Investigator Award.

Around 2,400 new cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in Ireland every year and almost 1,000 people die annually from the disease. Until now, therapies aimed at stopping the spread of the disease to other parts of the body have had little success.

However the Irish team discovered that the activity of a specific protein, NF-kappaB, along with help from a type of immune cell known as tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs), promotes the spread of bowel cancer cells to the abdominal cavity.

According to the scientists, TAMs are found close to or within tumour tissue and they can have a tumour-killing or tumour-promoting effect, depending on their environment.

However, they found that in the case of bowel cancer, TAMs can be changed from tumour-promoting to tumour-killing if the NK-kappaB protein is switched off. This could result in a major reduction in the spread of bowel cancer to the abdominal cavity.

"Our findings have, for the first time, uncovered the effect of targeting the NF-kappaB protein in bowel cancer cells. We are continuing this important research in order to develop a new treatment approach for bowel cancer which could potentially result in better treatments for patients with this disease," commented Dr Ryan, who added that she was ‘delighted' to win the Young Investigator Award.

Dr Ryan was congratulated by the ICS, which pointed out that these findings are opening ‘new avenues for the development of novel treatment approaches which will hopefully benefit bowel cancer patients in Ireland'.

Details about this research are published in the journal, Oncogene.

Anyone concerned about possible signs of bowel cancer, which can include a change in normal bowel motions, rectal bleeding, blood in the stools, weight loss and pain or discomfort in the abdomen or back passage, can call the ICS's National Cancer Helpline on 1800 200 700.