Their research has revealed that chemicals, called tenovins, form a protective shield around the p53 gene, known as the guardian of the genome ™, which is either switched off or impaired in many cancers.

The researchers from St Andrews and Dundee Universities, believe tenovins have the potential to stop tumours and could be used to develop effective new cancer treatments.

The researchers led by Dr. Sonia Lain from Dundee University say the p53 gene stops the growth of damaged cells, either by triggering their death, or prompting DNA repair and is activated by DNA damage.

While some drugs already in use trigger p53's anti-cancer activity by damaging DNA, inflicting this damage in itself carries a risk.

The researchers found that tenovins play a key role in preventing the body from breaking down p53 as part of its natural recycling process and they do so by blocking enzymes which target the gene for destruction.

The theory is that this ability could be harnessed by new anti-cancer drugs to boost levels of p53 and therefore its cancer fighting potency, in the body.

The drugs are potentially more effective and safer than current alternatives.

The discovery of the tenovins was made as a result of an investigation into the properties of a library of 30,000 drug-like compounds and Dr. Lain says their research indicates that tenovins have the potential to stop tumours.

Dr. Lain says tenovins work by inhibiting enzymes called sirtuins which clip off a crucial chemical group from p53, leading to its destruction and they hope that targeting sirtuins with drugs could treat many different cancers in the future.

The study was jointly funded by Tenovus Scotland, Cancer Research UK, and the University of Dundee.

Co-author, Dr Nick Westwood from the School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews, says the project is a good example of what can be done when researchers from different disciplines collaborate on a programme which successfully combines skills in cell and cancer biology, biochemistry, genetics and chemistry to deliver compounds of genuine therapeutic interest.

The study was jointly funded by Tenovus Scotland, Cancer Research UK, and the University of Dundee, and appears in the journal Cancer Cell.

Tenovins are named after funder Tenovus Scotland.

Cancer Research UK has developed ten goals to measure our success over the coming years in beating cancer. We will work with our partners to achieve the following by 2020:

People will know how to reduce their risk of cancer - Three-quarters of the UK public will be aware of the main lifestyle choices they can make to reduce their risk of getting cancer The number of smokers will fall dramatically - Four million fewer adults will be smokers, preventing thousands of new cases of cancer every year People under 75 will be less likely to get cancer - The chances of a person developing cancer up to the age of 75 will fall from more than one in four to one in five Cancer will be diagnosed earlier - Two-thirds of all cancer cases will be diagnosed at a stage when the cancer can be successfully treated We will understand how cancer starts and develops - We will have a detailed understanding of the causes and changes in the body in two-thirds of all cases of cancer There will be better treatments with fewer side effects - Treatments that accurately target the cancer and have few serious side effects will be available for at least half of all patients More people will survive cancer - Survival rates for all common cancers will increase, with more than two-thirds of newly-diagnosed patients living for at least five years We will especially tackle cancer in low income communities - The differences in the risk of dying from cancer between the most affluent and the least affluent will be reduced by half People with cancer will get the information they need - At least nine out of ten patients will be able to access the information they need at the time of diagnosis and during treatment We will continue to fight cancer beyond 2020 - Sufficient scientists, doctors, nurses and infrastructure will be in place to ensure continued rapid progress in the fight against cancer beyond 2020

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