The Christie Foundation Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22

Research

The CONNECT study led by Dr Donna Graham and funded by The Christie Charity is exploring the impact of digital technologies on care. Dr Claire Higham is leading the RADBONE study, a Medical Research Council funded trial that aims to improve bone health following pelvic radiotherapy in women with gynaecological cancer. Dr Cynthia Eccles is leading a programme to optimise delivery of radiotherapy by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI-Linac). Dr Kim Linton is leading several studies to explore survivorship in patients with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Dr Natalie Cook is leading the CUP-COMP study funded by Innovate UK and designed to improve knowledge of carcinoma of unknown primary site, an under-researched cancer associated with very poor outcomes. HYPROGEN led by Professor Rob Bristow and funded by Prostate Cancer UK will study the interplay between cellular oxygen levels, genomics and resistance to treatment in patients with advanced prostate cancer. The DETECTION trial led by Professor Paul Lorigan and funded by Cancer Research UK is for patients with melanoma. Liquid biopsies will be used after surgery to detect and treat recurrence early with immunotherapy. Dr Gerben Borst who joined The Christie from Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in 2020 is leading the POBIG trial, funded by the Cancer Research UK RADNET programme, and designed to test radiotherapy combined with surgery in patients with glioblastoma. TARGET National led by Dr Matt Krebs will be open nationally to patients with any type of cancer and of any age, including children. Liquid biopsies will be used to sequence cancer DNA in

Research involving tissue and blood samples The Manchester Cancer Research Centre Biobank, hosted and staffed at The Christie, has been established for 14 years and over 20,000 patients across Greater Manchester have consented to storage of their tissue and blood samples stored for research. Currently there are 60 active projects being conducted by over 50 researchers and across the majority of common and rare cancer types. Our Research: personalising treatment, improving outcomes Studies developed by Christie researchers address questions of highest unmet need that are often overlooked by commercial entities in research and development. Our current portfolio of around 200 studies includes 38 open to recruitment and 24 in set up. Patient and public involvement are integral to their design and many are conducted in close collaboration with biomedical scientists and physicists at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Centre and University of Manchester; alongside national and international research networks of cancer site specific experts. New studies launched in 2021 The NOTION study led by Dr Manon Pilai investigates home monitoring of blood for early detection of side effects from immunotherapy in patients with renal cell cancer and melanoma.

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