Teams from the Wolfson Institute of Population Health will lead two of the four DigiTrails projects which will recruit 150,000 volunteers onto research trials that could transform cancer treatment.
The Best4 Heartburn Health study and the PROTECT-C study have been selected as part of the NHS DigiTrials initiative to sign up volunteers over the next 12 months to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.
BEST4 Heartburn Health, co-led by Professor Peter Sasieni, is the biggest trial being supported and needs 120,000 volunteers to help test a new screening technique for oesophageal cancer. Jointly funded by Cancer Research UK and NIHR, the trial will explore if a test, which involves swallowing a compressed sponge on a string to extract oesophageal cells and reduces the need for invasive endoscopy, can prevent deaths from oesophageal cancer when offered as routine screening. Previous studies showed that the technique, pioneered by the University of Cambridge, detected ten times more cases of Barrett’s oesophagus, which can lead to cancer, compared with routine GP care. The new research will include teams from Queen Mary and the University of Cambridge Early Cancer Institute.
Peter Sasieni, Director of the Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Trials Unit at Queen Mary University of London and co-lead investigator on the BEST4 grant, said: “Working with NHS DigiTrials will enable us to recruit people from all sectors of society to ensure that no one is left behind by our research. Our clinical studies have already led to the capsule sponge being used within the NHS to help manage patients with heartburn, and this trial will see whether screening can reduce the risk of developing or dying from cancer of the food pipe.”
The PROTECT-C trial, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, will recruit 5000 women to take part in saliva-based tests to check their genetic risk of developing ovarian, breast, endometrial and colorectal cancer.
Ranjit Manchanda, Professor of Gynaecological Oncology, Co-Lead of the Cancer Prevention Unit at Queen Mary and lead of the PROTECT-C trial, said: “We are thrilled to be working with NHS DigiTrials to support invitations and recruitment for the PROTECT-C study. It supports delivery of a digitally enabled pathway that could revolutionise the applicability of genetic testing in healthcare, within the framework of the NHS. The concept of broadening genetic testing for cancer genes across the entire population, beyond just the current criteria-based approach, could prevent thousands more cancers than any current strategy, saving many lives.”
The NHS DigiTrials recruitment service, managed by NHS England, will now begin the process of identifying and contacting suitable NHS patients for the trials. Details on how to take part is available on the Be Part of Research website. The free NIHR-run online service makes it easy to find and sign up for health and care research happening across the UK.
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