It's #ResearchSpotlight time! Today, we're shining the spotlight on Professor Francesco Forconi...
🔬 Follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are the two most common types of non-Hodgkin #lymphoma.
We can treat this disease, but many treatments have harsh side effects.
💊 Professor Forconi from the University of Southampton wants to find better ways to treat these diseases.
🏷️ The team are studying ‘tags’ found on the surface of lymphoma cells, which they think tell the immune system to ignore the cancer cells. This means cancerous cells are not destroyed and are allowed to divide and grow in numbers.
🎯 The team want to understand how common the tags are in follicular lymphoma and DLBCL. They want to understand how they block the immune response and to test whether targeting these tags could be targeted with drugs to treat the disease.
❗ Importantly, these tags aren’t found on healthy cells and so if treatment could be targeted at these tags, it would mean treatment would selectively kill lymphoma cells whilst leaving the healthy cells relatively untouched.
This would help create kinder treatments for people with these types of #lymphoma.
❤️ Thanks so much Prof. Forconi and team for all your hard work!
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1/ People with blood cancer will be concerned by this news. We have been worried about how much protection the vaccines will give people with blood cancer because vaccines do not usually work as well for people with compromised immune systems.
2/ This study, while not peer reviewed and only looking at a small number of people, adds to that concern.
3/ This means that if you have blood cancer, it is important that you do not assume you have protection even after you have had the vaccine, particularly after just one dose, and that you continue being careful to avoid Covid.
1/ THREAD: With many schools going back on Monday and the infection rate now high across the country, we are concerned that parents who have blood cancer are not being considered in the Government’s decisions.
2/ Where schools are staying open, the Govt urgently needs to give advice and support for parents with who are vulnerable. This include ensuring high-quality home learning is in place, so children don’t fall behind if they have to stay at home to protect the health of a parent.
3/ We know that many parents with blood cancer are worried about their children going back. If you have blood cancer and live in an area where the infection rate is high, we think it is now worth considering keeping your children off school if you can.
BREAKING: people with blood cancer who are extremely clinically vulnerable have been moved up the provisional priority list for a vaccine. They are now at the same priority level as people aged over 70. This is great news! /1
Previously, younger people with blood cancer were only expected to get a vaccine after everyone aged 65+ had been offered one. But the new priority list better reflects the fact that people with blood cancer are especially vulnerable to #COVIDー19. /2
There’s also the good news that adults who live with people with blood cancer will also get priority. This is important because any vaccine might not work as well in people with compromised immune systems. /3
⚠️ The Government yesterday published guidance for people in England who are clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), for after England returns to the tier system on December 2nd.
It says: “your employer may be able to furlough you under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until the end of March 2021”. 2/
This applies to all tiers, so if you can’t work from home you should speak to your employer about whether this is possible. But we’re concerned that elsewhere in the guidance it says that people who are CEV and can’t work from home can carry on going into work. 3/
👨👩👦 Our Support Services Team have been hearing from lots of people who's children are experiencing anxiety around going to school, and are worried about the risk of bringing the virus home with them and infecting a parent who has #bloodcancer. 1/
🏥 This is a difficult situation for both children and parents. Sometimes, your treatment team might have access to psychological support for your children or teenagers, or an option to get support as family – it's worth asking. 2/
Shielding has been incredibly tough for many people, but this blanket approach to lifting it is only going to add anxiety in many cases. 1/
This announcement does not give people greater freedom, as the shielding guidelines have only ever been optional.
Instead, it risks taking away people’s freedom not to go to work or to the supermarket if they do not feel it’s safe to do so. 2/
The government needs to think again and continue to support those most vulnerable to becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus, or we could see people being forced to choose between their financial security and their health. 3/