City dad joins trial to beat pancreatic cancer

City dad Richard Griffiths is taking part in clinical trials in a bid to kill a cancerous tumour in his pancreas.

A CITY dad battling cancer is taking part in revolutionary trials to try to rid himself of the disease.

Richard Griffiths has been on the trial, developed by Cancer Research, since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May 2011.

He made the decision after scientists found how a combination of two different drugs amplified the destruction of cancer cells within the pancreas.

The research, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on Monday, is being tested by scientists at the charity's labs in Cambridge.

Father-of-two Richard has gone through six cycles of the treatment, with scans showing the tumours have reduced in size.

He said: "Being told I had cancer was devastating and made me immediately worry about the future.

"I have a close group of family and friends and I've had great support from this network. My work have been very supportive too.

"The trial gives you hope, I really feel I can do this with the science behind me."

The research showed an inhibitor drug called MRK003 combined well with a drug already used with pancreatic cancer patients to help destroy tumours.

Study author, Professor David Tuveson, said: "We’ve discovered why these two drugs together set off a domino effect of molecular activity to switch off cell survival processes and destroy pancreatic cancer cells."