Scientists in Manchester get £1.47million funding boost for lung cancer research
Scientists get £1.47million funding boost for lung cancer research
Cancer Research UK announced plans today to fund a £1.47million research programme, which is set to lead to major advances in lung cancer treatments – the North West’s most common cancer.
Every year around 46,400 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK, this includes around 3,600 people in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Cumbria.
A team of scientists which are led by Dr James O’Connor from The University of Manchester, will use the cash injection to look at how imaging techniques can be used to improve treatment plans for patients who are suffering from lung cancer.
The team will work to develop a new way to use imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to better understand how lung cancer tumours respond to treatment. The information they gather could then be used to evaluate new therapies and in the future, possibly help doctors to select the right treatments for each patient.
Dr O’Connor said: “We hope this research will transform the way we use scans to monitor how patients respond to new therapies.
“It’s an exciting area where we are aiming to combine drugs that harness the body’s immune system with well-established treatments like radiotherapy, and the same time, create tests to identify which patients would benefit from these drugs.”
The research will be done in laboratories, with the hope of running clinical trials on patients to test these techniques within three to four years.
Dr O’Connor said: “It builds on earlier research but we will be applying it to lung cancer specifically.”
Dr O’Connor, who lives in Hale and grew up in Altrincham, is one of only two scientists in the country this year to win the Cancer Research UK Advanced Clinician Scientist Fellowship award – it is aimed at supporting clinicians working in areas spanning basic and translational research.
Karen Noble who is the head of Cancer Research UK’s funding, said: “These awards are aimed at helping create the next generation of leaders in cancer research.
“They help encourage clinicians to continue to undertake vital research in conjunction with their clinical work treating patients.
“We hope Dr O’Connor’s important work in Manchester will improve lung cancer treatments for patients not just in Manchester but across the UK in future.”