Future of Cancer Diagnosis Looking Brighter

UK research is bringing significant improvements in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of three of the world’s most common forms of cancer - prostate, cervical and oesophageal.

A major project using the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) pioneering ALICE accelerator facility, is working to develop new techniques for accurate diagnosis of  the three cancer types much earlier than any current conventional tests.  It will also aim to develop a new generation of portable and highly accurate cancer diagnostics instruments.

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the project is led by the University of Liverpool, alongside Cardiff University and the Universities of Lancaster and Manchester. They are working closely with the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Erica Denton, National Clinical Director for Diagnostics, NHS, said: “This collaboration has the potential to bring significant improvements in patient care and is an excellent example of the kind of world leading, multidisciplinary research we excel in undertaking in the UK and especially at STFC.”

The University of Liverpool’s Professor Peter Weightman, who is leading the research, said: ‘This research could not be carried out efficiently and cost effectively by a number of smaller research groups. This impressive critical mass of scientists and clinicians has the combined experience and expertise to transform our understanding into the diagnosis and successful treatment of these three cancers. In the longer term, if this study reveals features common to all three cancers our results could be significant in the development of treatments for an even wider range of cancers and other diseases."