A PhD student in Bradford can start work on a project to try and lessen the side effects of a bone cancer treatment thanks to an appeal by a research charity.

Dr Robert Falconer, from the University of Bradford, can carry out his four-year project after the Bone Cancer Research Trust raised £100,000 to fund it.

He will be trying to reduce the severe side effects of Methotrexate, a chemotherapy agent used in treating osteosarcoma - or bone cancer.

Current side effects include low blood counts, hair loss, mouth sores and ulcers, nausea and diarrhoea.

It is hoped Dr Falconer’s work will see the efficiency of the drug increased to improve its ability to treat the cancer, without the nasty side effects.

As well as fighting cancerous cells, Methotrexate also effects normal cells, meaning another drug is needed to minimise the unwanted effects, and also has to be administered in high doses.

Dr Falconer said: “We believe our project has the potential to make a big difference to osteosarcoma treatment, to patients and their families alike.

“We have developed a way to selectively target toxic cancer drugs like Methotrexate to osteosarcoma tumours, where they are selectively released, which reduces potential side-effects for the patient.

“We will chemically modify Methotrexate so that it will be inactive in the bloodstream and normal tissues, until it reaches the tumour where it will be ‘activated’ by proteins called ‘matrix metalloproteinases’, or MMPs, which cancer cells possess but healthy cells do not.

“These MMPs should target the Methotrexate to the tumour, without causing too many side effects, but before we can test this approach in patients we need to do work in the laboratory.

“If we’re successful in our goal to develop a new Methotrexate ‘prodrug’, it could make a big difference to patients and their families due to the reduced toxicity to normal cells and to the incidence of side-effects.

“Also, the technology has the potential to actually deliver more drug directly into the tumour where it is really needed, so there is also a possibility for the treatment to be more successful, improving quality of life and outcomes for osteosarcoma patients.

“We would like to sincerely thank all those supporters who have donated towards the appeal.

“Every penny will go towards the vital experiments that will enable us to test the new Methotrexate prodrug that we will develop, and get us one step closer to being able to realise our goal of a better, more-tolerated, more effective treatment for patients.

Dr Zoe Davison, head of research and information at the Bone Cancer Research Trust, added: “If Dr Falconer’s research is successful the project could proceed to clinical trial phases.

“Ultimately, we could potentially see a new Methotrexate drug into mainstream healthcare which is a more effective and efficient attack against osteosarcoma tumours with dramatically reduced side effects.

“This will revolutionise patient care and would dramatically change views towards Methotrexate application.”