Cancer Research & Medical Innovations
Cancer Research at the Jack Birch Unit
In 1992, five years after we began, we opened the Jack Birch Unit (JBU) at the University of York. Previously led by Professor Jenny Southgate, the JBU has made landmark discoveries in understanding the causes, prevention and treatment of bladder cancer, with research findings being published widely in scientific and medical journals.
Now led by Professor Will Brackenbury, the JBU is expanding its cancer research programme to significantly enhance clinical impact for cancer patients. This will include developing scientifically-led clinical collaborations and ensuring research findings can be translated into real-world applications. The unit will continue its pioneering work on bladder cancer models while expanding its research into other cancer types, including those of the breast, colon and kidney. A key goal is to identify and target previously unexplored aspects of the tumour’s environment, which are crucial for understanding how cancer starts, grows, spreads, and how it responds to treatment.
“I am very excited to be taking on directorship of the York Against Cancer funded JBU. This presents a fantastic opportunity to expand our research in breast, bladder, colon and kidney cancers to accelerate the development of new treatments that I hope can make a real difference to the lives of cancer patients in the future.” – Professor Will Brackenbury, Director of the Jack Birch Unit
The funding that York Against Cancer provides to the JBU also ensures high quality cancer research happens locally, and guarantees that a critical mass of expertise is active in our region to promote NHS collaborations and the training of the next generation of York scientists.
Bowel Cancer Diagnostics
York Against Cancer has granted a consultant gastroenterologist at York Hospital £35,000 to research a test to identify people at risk of bowel cancer. One in 30 people will get bowel cancer during their lifetime, and when caught early, it is much easier to treat.
Family doctors currently decide who should be referred to specialists through national guidelines based on patients’ symptoms. However, these symptoms can be misleading; of every 100 patients undergoing fast-track hospital assessment, just six actually have bowel cancer. Fifty per cent of bowel cancers are detected in other ways, such as when patients turn up at A & E with symptoms of advanced disease.
Consultant gastroenterologist, Dr James Turvill, is interested in two chemicals associated with a high risk of bowel cancer, believing they could lead to a much-improved testing regime.
In previous research conducted by Dr Turvill and others, the two substances, known as biomarkers, proved highly sensitive in detecting cases of bowel cancer, with one of them, Calprotectin, finding 98.6 per cent of cancers and the other, Faecal Immunochemical Test for haemoglobin (FIT), proving even more sensitive.
Both biomarkers also flag up cases that go on to prove non-cancerous, although significantly fewer than is the case for the current symptom-based assessments. Dr Turvill hopes that further tests will refine the process so that the biomarkers, either individually or in combination, can weed out more of these ‘false positives’.
If the work is successful, the national guidelines on bowel cancer referral could be amended to include the biomarker test, potentially greatly reducing the numbers sent for investigations that subsequently turn out to have been needless.
“We are ahead of the curve with this. Other units are interested in this up and down the country. It could lead to us diagnosing cancers urgently and with much more efficiency.” – Dr James Turvill
Surgical Robot
In 2022, York Against Cancer made a £680,000 donation to fund a brand new robotic surgical system at York Hospital, entitled the da Vinic Surgical System. This innovative technology allows for less invasive procedures then open surgery, and grants more precision in difficult to access areas than traditional key-hole surgery, leading to fewer complications.
The surgical robot is designed to translate the surgeon’s hand movements at the console in real time, moving like a human hand but with a greater range of motion and precision. Combined with a significantly magnified view, it will make difficult operations much easier and allow for an earlier return to function for the patient.
“We’re already seeing the advantages. Patients are more able to return to activity with less post-operative pain.” – Consultant Urologist, Dr Ben Blake-James
If you would like to find out more about our groundbreaking research and medical innovations, call us on 01904 764466 or email office@yorkagainstcancer.org.uk.