Why I Support Cancer Research UK
In yesterday’s post; There’s More To Liverpool Than Football And The Beatles, I talked about how researchers at Liverpool University had developed a better prostate cancer treatment. I posted this from an An article in The Guardian.
The ESPAC trials, which began publishing findings in 2004, showed that chemotherapy with gemcitabine brings five-year survival up to 15-17%, doubling the rate of survival with surgery alone. The latest research, presented at theAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, showed the two-drug combination nearly doubles the survival rate again to 29%.
It showed, said Neoptolemos, that chemotherapy does work in pancreatic cancer, even though most attention in cancer research is now focused onimmunotherapy, and precision or targeted medicine.
But the trial would not have happened without funding from the charity CancerResearch UK (CRUK), because both drugs are old and off-patent, meaning they can be made by any generic drug manufacturer and are consequently cheap. Drug companies would not foot the bill for such a trial because the profits to be made are small.
“This is an academic-led presentation,” said Neoptolemos. “This shows the enormous value of CRUK. Without them, none of this would have happened. There is a lot of pressure [on doctors] to do drug company trials because you get £2,000 to £3,000 a patient. For something like this, you don’t get anything. It has been quite tough to do.”
That is a very strong endorsement of Cancer Research UK.
Today, there is this story on the BBC web site, which is entitled Bowel cancer: Stents ‘may prevent need for colostomy bags’. This is said.
Bowel cancer patients may avoid the need for colostomy bags if they are first treated by having an expandable tube inserted at the site of their blockage, cancer doctors have said.
The new approach, presented at the world’s biggest cancer conference, showed that the tube, or stent, cut the risk of complications from surgery.
The trial took place at Central Manchester University Hospitals! And who funded the trial? Cancer Research UK!
So I shall keep supporting the work of Cancer Research UK!
The Anonymous Widower 
There is a huge amount of cancer research happens in Manchester – at The Christie the scientists doing the research are very much involved with the patients on whom the drugs or other treatments are being tested. I think this stent idea is great – dad had an ileostomy, although not for cancer, he had both ulcerative colitis and heart disease, and the stoma was lined to that – he wasn’t able to absorb is heart medication when he colitis was flared up. So the stent wouldn’t have helped him. But it is a good idea.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | June 8, 2016 |
I will always support Cancer Research UK to fight this vile illness as I recently lost my Mum to Ovarian Cancer, I wish I could do more to help but we are doing a charity walk along Hadrians Wall in 2017… hopefully our little effort will help raise them some essential fudning
Comment by rosemaryscruisers | July 23, 2016 |