Advertise on podcast: Integrated Cancer Medicine: Research in Focus

Have you ever thought about getting involved in research as a patient or supporter? In this episode, Ellie Wolmark talks to the incredible members of the Women⁺s Cancers Programme Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Group about how they are involved in our research, why they think involvement is so important, and what it means to them to be a part of the group. Not only do they share their stories and thoughts, but they also offer huge insight into their disease and the research surrounding it. They talk about how they can help and make an impact, not just for themselves and each other, but also for patients of the future. Their involvement is about making things easier, supporting quicker diagnoses, and helping to shape better, more personalised treatments. The episode is incredibly uplifting. You will hear how empowering they find being part of the group and engaging with research. They are a shining example of how knowledge is power. Their support for one another, and for the researchers through the ups and downs of this disease, gives real hope for a better future. Further information: -Find out more about the DEMO Project at https://ovarian.org.uk/our-research/improve-uk/demo-uk/ -Join the Wellcome Connecting Science course on 'The Power of Patient Advocacy in Genomics: Influencing Research, Clinical Practice and Decision Making' at https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/the-power-of-patient-advocacy-in-genomics-influencing-research-clinical-practice-and-decision-making

Is a tumour's ability to evolve and adapt over time linked to why it becomes resistant to radiotherapy? And if so, what can we do to overcome this radioresistance? In this episode, Dr Christopher Jones and Dr Ashley Nicholls from CRUK RadNet Cambridge at the University of Cambridge explore these questions. They explain why some tumours are resistant to radiation and why some patients are more resistant to treatment than others. They also offer insights into why recurrence happens and how to identify it early in order to treat it more effectively with new technologies. This includes designing new tools to make drug delivery more accurate and new genetic approaches to investigate specific ways to treat cancer in the context of radiation. Chris works predominantly in oesophageal cancer, while Ash studies lung cancer, but both strive to understand why relapse and radioresistance occur to then try to target these cancers with specific drugs or drug combinations to lessen toxicity and help personalise treatment.

Can we use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict where a brain tumour might recur at the point of first diagnosis in order to pre-emptively treat it to stop recurrence? Dr Francesca Cozzi (a PhD student at the University of Cambridge) and Dr Curtis Holliman (Associate Professor in the Mathematics Department at The Catholic University of America, USA) believe this will eventually be possible. In this exciting conversation they talk about their collaboration to find a mechanism to mathematically model the progression of glioblastoma. They highlight why it is important to achieve this in an explainable way using AI, to keep the process of decision making transparent and interpretable to self-validate the models they develop.

Could the environment around a cancer tumour hold the key to better treatments? In this episode, PhD students Emily Lythgoe and Ellie Bunce from the University of Cambridge discuss their research into tumour microenvironments. They explain why studying these environments in ovarian cancer (in a clinical setting) and head and neck cancer (in a pre-clinical setting) is so important for predicting how tumours might respond to treatment. They also highlight the value of integrating multiple technologies to create a more complete picture of a patient and their disease. This insightful conversation explores how their work helps to understand the building blocks of these cancers and why such complex research could be crucial for developing new ways to treat patients in the future.

What if a time machine could be built, not from metal but from human tissue, to help us understand cancer and how it responds to treatment? Dr Alecia-Jane Twigger, Dr Akanksha Anand, Dr Kui Hua, Dr Pedro Victori and Dr Jo Worley from the University of Cambridge have done just that. In this episode, they talk about their project funded by Wellcome LEAP under the Delta Tissue programme to build a 'tissue time machine'. By studying tumour samples from patients with triple negative breast cancer before and after treatment, they aim to build a model that can predict how patients would respond to therapy. The conversation offers a fascinating look at how a truly multidisciplinary team, bringing together scientists from very different fields, can achieve something remarkable.

Have you ever wondered how artificial intelligence (AI) is used in research in a healthcare setting? Rebecca Wray and Bill McGough, two PhD students at the University of Cambridge, both use AI in different ways in their research into the screening and treatment of kidney cancer. Rebecca is an MRes PhD student investigating the response and resistance to therapy in patients with kidney cancer. She uses AI to find tumour features at multiple scales. For his PhD, Bill is developing AI models that will sift through the mounds of imaging data produced during the Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research), flagging images that show masses in the kidneys. This interesting conversation gives insight into how researchers are using patient data safely in order for AI models to integrate all the information about a patient to help review their treatment and personalise it. The discussion also highlights how using AI in the screening setting is speeding up processes to help save clinicians' time and allowing the potential earlier detection of kidney cancer in a cost-effective manner.

How can artificial intelligence (AI) support both cancer research and healthcare more generally? Anoushka Harit (University of Cambridge) and Dr Zhongtian Sun (University of Kent) join today's episode to discuss this topic. Anoushka talks about her research in hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) and the development of an AI system to enable early detection of signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) during endoscopy. This new AI system could help to treat SRCC better or to prevent or delay drastic life-changing treatment, preserving patients' quality of life. Zhongtian shares insights on how AI can support health applications more generally and how he tries to make it as explainable as possible. He even talks about his wish to make the AI mimic as much as possible the way a human brain works!

Professor Kevin Brindle joins Ellie Wolmark to discuss his life's work in imaging research as he reaches retirement. Kevin is particularly interested in metabolic imaging. His research group has developed novel magnetic resonance-based molecular imaging techniques to detect the early responses of tumours to therapy, with a view to translating these into clinical application. He talks about how he got into this topic in the first place, his amazing contributions to the field over the past four decades, and about how his techniques can be translated into the clinic to impact patient treatment. Kevin is Emeritus Professor of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance in the Department of Biochemistry and a Senior Group Leader in the CRUK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and of the Royal Society.

Dr Ines Machado, Dr Gabriel Funingana, Thomas Buddenkotte and Amied Shadmaan talk about the research they are undertaking within the collaborative project between GE Healthcare, the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. They also provide an update on the development of the Oncocare platform. Ines is a Research Associate in the Crispin Lab at the CRUK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, UK. Gabriel is a Clinical Fellow and PhD student in the Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, UK. Thomas is a consultant to the Crispin Lab. He obtained his PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK, working at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and the Department of Radiology. He is now affiliated with the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, and the Hamburg-based company Jung Diagnostics. Amied is Director of AI & Clinical Collaborations at GE Healthcare.

This week, Ellie Wolmark is joined by Dr Claire King, Cherry May Sanchez and Dr Rhys Grant to discuss some of the amazing engagement, involvement and inclusion initiatives that we run here at the CRUK Cambridge Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK. They share how and why we engage and involve patients and the public in our research, and focus on the importance of championing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in all aspects of our work. You will also hear about some of our projects for working with hard-to-reach communities, including how our Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Programme are helping to tackle health inequalities for people experiencing homelessness. Claire is a Programme Manager for the Advanced Cancer Imaging and Cancer Immunology Programmes and an EDI Champion at the CRUK Cambridge Centre. Cherry May is the CRUK Senior Research Nurse and co-Lead for the Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Programme at the CRUK Cambridge Centre. Rhys is the Engagement Lead and an EDI Champion at the CRUK Cambridge Centre.

In today's episode, Marika Reinius and Maria Delgado Ortet talk about the multidisciplinary 3D mould guided radiogenomics project in ovarian cancer. They highlight how the process works and why it is potentially game changing in the treatment of a cancer where the standard of care has not really changed in over 20 years. Marika is a clinical research fellow at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, University of Cambridge, UK. Maria is a PhD Student in the Department of Radiology and the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Professor Jason Carroll speaks about his research in molecular oncology, with a focus on the work underpinning the PIONEER breast cancer trial and the outcomes of this clinical trial. Jason is Professor of Molecular Oncology and Senior Group Leader at the CRUK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, UK. He is also co-lead for the Precision Breast Cancer Virtual Institute at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK.

In today's episode, Ellie Wolmark is joined by Professor George Vassiliou to talk about his research on clonal haematopoiesis and a new clinic that he has recently set up. We'll uncover what clonal haematopoiesis is and how it can sometimes lead to the development of blood cancer. George is a CRUK Senior Clinical Fellow and Professor of Haematological Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is also a member of Faculty at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and a Consultant Haematologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

In this episode, Professors Grant Stewart and Stephen Price discuss what it means to be both a cancer surgeon and a clinical researcher. They talk about how they can improve surgery for brain and kidney cancer patients, how they can identify cancer as quickly as possible through screening, and how they can improve on the outcomes of surgery by augmenting it with other treatments such as radiotherapy and drugs. Grant is co-lead of both the Institute for Integrated Cancer Medicine and the Urological Malignancies Virtual Institute at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK, and is Professor of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Stephen is co-lead of the Brain Cancer Virtual Institute at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, UK, and is Professor of Neurosurgical Oncology and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Raj Jena talks about his research on analysis of the images used for radiotherapy planning and for modelling the effects and outcomes of radiotherapy treatment. As a clinician, he uses radiotherapy and drug treatments on patients with tumours in the brain or spine. He also talks about the InnerEye Project, a collaboration with Microsoft Cambridge, which uses algorithms to map and segment tumours from CT/MRI scans. Raj is a Clinical Consultant and Radiation Oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK, and is a member of the CRUK Cambridge Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK.