Cancer research projects in Leeds receive £3.4m in funding

More than half of the funding from Yorkshire Cancer Research will go towards research and trials involving lung cancer. Each year, more than 600 people in Leeds are diagnosed with the condition.

One of the projects will run alongside the Leeds Lung Health Check, the lung screening trial which began in November last year, and will see £1.7m spent on a trial which will take blood samples from people undergoing lung health checks and test them to see if they can be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

A second trial will see researchers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust investigate whether an education and lifestyle programme, including exercise, dietary advice and stop smoking support, can improve the wellbeing and survival of patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment to cure their lung cancer.

The £193,000 trial, led by Dr Kevin Franks and Dr Carole Burnett, will initially recruit 100 patients from the Leeds area.

Dr Franks said there was an “urgent need” to ensure patients are as healthy as possible before, during and after treatment to maximise the benefits. He added: “If successful, this study could lead to a larger scale trial or a region-wide programme involving cancer centres and units across Yorkshire.”

Another trial, which received £790,000, will develop and test an online system where breast and bowel cancer survivors can report symptoms and side effects from home. Reports will then be displayed in real-time within hospital records alongside scans and test results.

Study lead Galina Velikova, consultant in medical oncology and Professor at the University of Leeds, said: “Many cancer survivors report feeling ‘abandoned’ after treatment. There is a huge need to reduce the impact of treatment on breast and bowel cancer survivors’ lives by increasing their confidence to detect and manage side effects and symptoms in a timely way.”

A further £723,000 will be used to extend the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre for Early Phase Clinical Trials, formed in partnership with the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Leeds and clinicians and scientists at the universities of Leeds, Sheffield, York, Hull and Bradford.

In total, Yorkshire Cancer Research has announced £6.5m for new research projects in the region today.

Chief executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, Dr Kathryn Scott, said the investment was the result of “extensive analysis of the Yorkshire cancer landscape”.

She said: “We want to ensure people with cancer in Yorkshire have the best possible experience, from the point of diagnosis onwards.“This means improving their opportunity to be diagnosed at the earliest possible stage; ensuring they receive the best treatment for their cancer and providing innovative support programmes so they can be prepared for and recover well from treatment. It also means increasing access to cutting-edge treatments and ensuring Yorkshire remains at the forefront of world-class research."