T. Rajkumar, Head of Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, has been chosen for the `Kobayashi Foundation Award' for cancer research. The award is given for work on understanding the mechanism of drug resistance in the aggressive bone cancer among children and adolescents, called osteosarcomas.
Dedicating the award to his mentor, Dr. S. Krishnamurthi, Dr. Rajkumar said, his research would not only help patients with osteosarcomas, but also those suffering from breast cancer, wherein the same drug (Doxorubicin) was used.
He first developed drug resistant cancer cell lines and then compared the gene expression profile between drug sensitive and drug resistant cells. This helped identify new genes to be associated with drug resistance in these cancer cells. Based on this information, he tried to block the function of these genes involved in drug resistance, using a drug used earlier in the treatment of diabetes. This drug helped reverse the drug resistance significantly in the drug resistant osteosarcoma cancer cells by reducing the levels of mRNA of genes which increase drug resistance and by increasing the mRNA levels of genes which decrease drug resistance.
Three decades ago, these aggressive bone tumours were treated by mutilating surgeries resulting in removal of limbs with cure rates less than 20 per cent. The Cancer Institute then introduced the concept of limb conservation for the first time in the country using custom made prosthesis designed by Prof. Mayilvahanan, the present Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University which resulted in an improvement of cure rates to 60 to 70 percent. As the failure rate was still 30 to 40 per cent, the Institute's adviser Dr. S. Krishnamurthi wanted work to be done on understanding the mechanism of this resistance in osteosarcomas cancer cells.
The Molecular Oncology Department has already been designated a `Centre of Excellence' by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
