Impact Report 2023

The Colorectal and Peritoneal Oncology Centre (CPOC) In 2001 The Christie took the bold step in becoming a specialist centre for the development of treatments for advanced and early colorectal cancer, appendix tumours, peritoneal tumours, anal cancer and tumours within the pelvis. Over the past 20 years the centre has developed and has seen referrals rise to 370 a year – an increase of more than 30% on previous years. Colorectal cancer is now the fourth most common cancer in the UK with over 42,000 diagnosed each year. Charity funding has supported a number of developments in the CPOC team including: • t he creation of a surgical academy where surgical trials can take place • p ilot programmes reimagining what is possible with future research and treatment • e ducational support for patients’ families and healthcare professionals • biomarker profiling of certain cancers • clinical psychologist to support patients with the emotional impact of diagnosis and treatment It allows the CPOC team to continue its cutting-edge work and expand its understanding and expertise in dealing with these types of cancer. Ultimately this will improve patient outcomes both now and in the future.

The LION Trial Research and clinical trials are integral to The Christie’s work. It is what allows our clinical colleagues to decide how to best treat patients. It is what makes the development of new medicines, new procedures and new tools possible. Without research and trials, it would be impossible to decide if new treatments are better than current treatments. A project that we have funded in the last twelve months is the LION (Lifting Immune Checkpoints with NSAIDs). trial, in which patients with newly diagnosed triple negative breast cancer as well as renal and lung cancers are treated with anti-inflammatory drugs in addition to standard chemo-immunotherapy treatment. In Britain, 8,000 women a year are diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. Pre-clinical data suggests that combining anti-inflammatory drugs with immunotherapy may improve outcomes for patients. This charity-funded groundbreaking research will be the first time that the three disease groups (breast, renal and lung) have worked together on one study and therefore will establish a team of consultants with similar interests in immune oncology. Many immune treatments are not tumour site specific and therefore this study is likely to provide a foundation for work on future multi-tumour site studies. Samples obtained by the study may also potentially be used to select patients who would benefit most from the addition of anti-inflammatory drugs in follow-on studies.

THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THAT THE THREE DISEASE GROUPS (BREAST, RENAL AND LUNG) HAVE WORKED TOGETHER ON ONE STUDY

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