EARLY DETECTION & DIAGNOSIS NEWSLETTER Hi Voornaam,
Welcome to your latest Early Detection and Diagnosis newsletter. Spring remains a busy time in our cancer research community with international meetings like AACR and ASCO. We were pleased to see an increased interest in early detection and diagnosis research at the former, including a plenary talk from Rebecca Fitzgerald mentioning the new Cytosponge mortality endpoint trial, BEST4, that we are co-funding with NIHR.
As in-person meetings and conferences become a reality again, it brings the benefit of interacting with colleagues in ways other than through a computer screen. Collaborative conversations about on-going challenges in early detection and diagnosis research will spark new ideas and lead to exciting discoveries. In that spirit, we would encourage you to register for our Early Detection of Cancer Conference in October. We are returning to our first in-person meeting since 2019 and to support the UK early detection and diagnosis community to join us in Portland, we will be offering complimentary registration and travel bursaries to selected abstract presenters.
I’d also like to draw your attention to our recently published prevention research strategy. We know that improved detection of precancerous states and understanding of risk will also greatly impact our ability to prevent cancers before they happen. Partnership and collaboration will be key as we seek to attract new researchers with innovative ideas to the challenge of cancer prevention and I hope that the early detection and diagnosis community is eager to be part of these efforts.
Finally, our funding committee will be gathering once again at our offices in Stratford this month to make the next round of funding decisions. Look out for more information about supported awards in an upcoming newsletter. As always, many thanks for the outstanding work that you do. Kind regards, David Crosby,
Head of Prevention and Early Detection Research
Cancer Research UK |
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THE EARLY DETECTION OF CANCER CONFERENCE – REGISTER NOW AND SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT Secure your place at this year’s Early Detection of Cancer Conference. We’d love for you to join us in person again in Portland, Oregon this October. We have an outstanding programme shaping up, featuring sessions on microbiological risk factors, emerging technologies and multi-cancer detection tests. We’ll be providing complimentary registration and travel bursaries to five UK-based students or post-docs who submit abstracts to present at this year's event. The deadline to submit an abstract and be considered for a lightning talk is 19 August and abstract submission closes on 2 September. |
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TOOTHBRUSHES AND CTDNA: THE PROMISE OF EARLY DETECTION FROM NEW PROJECTS FORMED AT OUR SANDPIT WORKSHOPS We’re collaborating with the Medical Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on an investment into four new research projects taking on the challenge of cancer early detection and diagnosis.
The multidisciplinary teams of GPs, clinicians, cancer biologists, engineers, chemists, and computational scientists will each receive up to £230,000 seed-funding to conduct feasibility work. |
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| | PREVENTION RESEARCH STRATEGY LAUNCHED Last month we launched our new Prevention Research Strategy, one of the topics in our refreshed research strategy we’re exploring in more depth. It builds on our strong track record of epidemiological and behavioural research that has transformed our understanding of modifiable cancer risk factors.
In our new approach, we will deepen our understanding of cancer risk and use biological insights to provide new prevention targets. We’ll invest in research to better understand the complexities of interrelated cancer susceptibilities, including improving our understanding of how metabolism, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, infection, immunity and the microbiome impact on cancer initiation. |
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 £6.4M INVESTMENT FOR LATEST CYTOSPONGE TRIAL Together with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, we’re jointly investing £6.4m over the next 14 years in BEST4, the latest trial for the Cytosponge as a screening device for detecting Barrett’s oesophagus. Rebecca Fitzgerald (University of Cambridge) and Peter Sasieni (Kings College London) will lead the trial, which will build on previous Cytosponge studies. To make the most of the valuable contribution each person makes when they join the study, samples collected in BEST4 will be used for further discovery and translational work to understand the biology of how oesophageal cancer develops and progresses. |
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|  WHAT WE'RE DOING TO SUPPORT THE RECOVERY OF CLINICAL RESEARCH Throughout the pandemic, clinical staff have worked hard to keep cancer research going wherever possible. However, it’s clear that clinical research is taking much longer to recover to pre-pandemic levels than hoped.
We’re working with the government to make sure recovery is a priority, but we know there’s a lot more to do. We invited members of the clinical research community to ask us questions on what we’re doing to support recovery. |
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| | CRUK EARLY DIAGNOSIS RESEARCH – VIRTUAL SERIES 2022 We’re hosting two Early Diagnosis Research Virtual Spotlight sessions in June. Join us on 14 June for our session on 'Taking forward the ED&D Roadmap: A Spotlight on Target Product Profiles (TPPs)', where Professor Larry Kessler (University of Washington) will be sharing information about his project to develop a Target Product Profile (TPP) relevant to gynaecological cancer.
Our session on 27 June focuses on 'Exploring diagnosis of cancer as an emergency: Evidence and Insight from the UK and other countries'. Professor Yoryos Lyratzopoulos (UCL) will present data from recently published International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) research on the diagnosis of cancer through emergency presentation. |
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| | LAUNCH OF CANCER RESEARCH HORIZONS Last month we launched Cancer Research Horizons, our new innovation engine for commercialisation and drug discovery. Together with our research community and partners, we’ll tap into the exciting cancer research happening globally and translate them into effective tools, tests and treatments.
An integral part of Cancer Research Horizons is our new and ambitious approach to driving therapeutic innovation. This sees us combining the strengths of our established drug discovery sites across the UK with our network of world-class biology, cutting-edge technology platforms and clinical expertise. Cancer Research Horizons will work closely with our Centre for Drug Development to fast-tack potential breakthroughs into clinical trials and deliver maximum impact for people affected by cancer. |
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 CRUK LUNG CANCER CONFERENCE RETURNS THIS NOVEMBER Registration and abstract submissions are open for the CRUK Lung Cancer Conference 2022, taking place in Manchester on 15–17 November.
The co-leads of our Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, Professors Caroline Dive and Charles Swanton, have put together a programme of expert talks and thought-provoking sessions with many exploring the theme of early detection and diagnosis, including how we best respond to the transformative shift currently underway in the early detection of lung cancer.
The meeting is open to all with an interest in lung cancer and related conditions. |
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|  EPISODE 3 OF OUR PODCAST: PROTEOMICS IN EARLY DETECTION RESEARCH In episode 3 of the Cancer Research Matters podcast, we spoke to Professor Sara Zanivan, who won a Cancer Research UK Early Detection Primer Award, about her work utilising proteomic changes for cancer early detection.
Sara is based at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute where she uses a number of proteomics approaches to explore the tumour microenvironment. Her lab also applies their proteomics expertise and capability to develop early detection approaches, specifically utilising mass-spectrometry to examine how large proteomic changes could be used in the clinic.
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| | FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR REGISTERED REPORTS PILOT A reminder for anyone applying for our Early Detection and Diagnosis or Prevention and Population Research Project Awards to consider opting into our new Registered Reports pilot. We’ve launched this in collaboration with researchers at the University of Bristol and a consortium of 13 journals with the aim of encouraging more researchers to publish the results of their research, irrespective of the findings, by streamlining the pathway to submitting a Registered Report.
You can opt in to the pilot as part of your grant application. Find out more about Registered Reports and our pilot by reading our recent Q&A with Marcus Munafo or listening to the recording of our recent webinar on Registered Reports Funding Partnerships. |
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