Cancer Research Wales

The tremendous support we continue to receive from the public has ensured that Cancer Research Wales has kept on growing and as another year draws to a close we take an opportunity to look back on some of the highlights in 2013. Undoubtedly, one of the main features of the year was the Cancer Research Wales science symposium held at the Swalec stadium in March which was hosted by BBC newsreader Sian Lloyd (pictured, left). The day started in fantastic fashion with an address by the Health Minister, Ms Lesley Griffiths. This set the scene for a fabulous day which brought together some of Wales leading cancer scientists, research nurses, radiologists and oncologists, giving them the ideal forum to share results, ideas and form new collaborations.

Announced at the symposium was the award of £1.5m made to the Wales Cancer Bank for the molecular characterisation of the thousands of tumours so far collected. The promise of delivering personalised medicine for the treatment of cancer has not come without significant challenges. As a result of this work, the Wales Cancer Bank will be strategically positioned to be able to address some of the issues that have recently arisen such as the existence of multiple mutations in single tumours, limiting the effectiveness of some of the new treatments when used as single agents. This ambitious study will help decipher which treatments may work better as combinations to allow the best outcome for patients.

For many years Cancer Research Wales has invested in the next generation of cancer researchers and this year was no exception. In April the scientific committee had the pleasure to be able to award 6 new PhD studentships and 3 post-doctoral positions to scientists at an early stage of their career. This brings the number of early stage researchers we fund across the Principality to a total of 30 PhD students and 9 post-doctoral scientists, figures which we are very proud of and which will hopefully continue to grow.

Back in May, Professor Malcolm Mason (pictured, right) who holds the Cancer Research Wales Chair of Clinical Oncology was honoured with the prestigious William Farr medal. This award is made annually to medical practitioners who have made a significant contribution to the treatment of elderly patients through original research conducted in the U.K. Professor Mason received the award in recognition of the ground-breaking clinical trials he helped lead in the field of prostate cancer, trials which improved survival by 8-10%.

This year it was nice to see new cancer sites and projects added to the Cancer Research Wales research portfolio that deal with unmet clinical needs associated with myeloid leukaemia and ovarian cancer. Another very important initiative we were able to support was module 4 of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership which seeks to find the causes of delays in diagnosis and treatment in cancer patients across Wales. Everyone is aware that early diagnosis in cancer is critical and we eagerly await the findings of these studies over the next year or two which have the potential to change clinical practice.

The Cancer Research Wales programme grant also continues to go from strength to strength, with several of the scientists involved on the project receiving awards and recognition at international conferences and workshops during 2013. The focus of this research is to try and understand the complex interplay that occurs between the immune system and prostate cancer cells and how this can lead to aggressive disease. This work is very relevant since a number of new drugs which seek to harness the power of the immune system are currently being tested for metastatic prostate cancer. It is hoped that the work will result in a better understanding of these processes and lead to the optimal use of these agents in addition to the discovery of new drug targets for advanced prostate cancer.

Cancer Research Wales is proud to fund the Clinical Trial Unit at Velindre Cancer Centre which has recently established an early phase (I//II) clinical trials team. There are currently over 60 different trials ongoing and this year the unit become the highest recruiter of patients for phase I cancer trails in Europe. This initiative enables Welsh patients early access to new and innovative cancer therapies. Elsewhere, the Cancer Research Wales sponsored trial, led by Dr Andrew Godkin (pictured, left), in which cancer vaccines are used to treat inoperable metastatic colon cancer continues to recruit well and we look forward to the findings of that particular clinical trial in due course.

The success of 2013 saw over 25 science publications result from Cancer Research Wales sponsored projects, each one adding their piece to the complex cancer puzzle and further increasing our knowledge of this terrible disease. Looking ahead we are pleased to launch a new scholarship in brain tumour research in memory of Mr Ed Evans who tirelessly raised funds for Cancer Research Wales until his sad death in 2007. It is hoped this scholarship will help towards developing a programme of brain cancer research within Wales. In 2014 the Wales Cancer Bank, of which Cancer Research Wales is a major stakeholder, will reach two very important milestones, namely its 10^th anniversary and the consenting of its 10,000^th patient. This will provide an invaluable resource for researchers in Wales and beyond for many years to come, enabling scientists to determine the clinical significance of laboratory based findings.

Therefore, on behalf of everyone at Cancer Research Wales it gives me immense pleasure to say a big thank you to all our terrific supporters for another wonderful year. We are continually amazed at the generosity and all the hard work you continue to do for Cancer Research Wales, even during the midst of this difficult economic climate. Without this help we could not work towards our goal of reducing the impact of cancer on the people of Wales through the funding of world class cancer research and education. For that we thank you.

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Cancer Research Wales, cancer vaccines, Early Diagnosis, ovarian cancer, Personalised Cancer Treatment, Professor Malcolm Mason, prostate cancer, Sian Lloyd