We are The Christie magazine -Edition 5

Around the Trust

Around the Trust

£8m advanced immunotherapy research programme launches at The Christie CAR-T therapy is a type of immunotherapy that is transforming survival prospects for certain patients with blood cancers like lymphoma and leukaemia. However, many experience severe reactions, including Cytokine Release Syndrome, which can be potentially life-threatening. Dr Jon Lim and his team at The Christie and The University of Manchester are working to change this. Building on 30 years of worldwide research, the RISE study aims to help patients better tolerate cutting-edge immunotherapy treatments like CAR-T. The programme plans to recruit up to 100 patients over five years and includes £3.4m in funding from the Medical Research Council, alongside industry support. Dr Lim says: “Funding of this scale is rare, and we’re grateful for the opportunity. It reflects both the complexity of the challenge and the shared hope that this work can genuinely improve patients’ lives. RISE brings together experts from across Manchester to understand how new cancer immunotherapies work, and why they sometimes cause serious side effects. Our ambition is to position the UK as a global leader in research focused on the safe delivery of cell therapies.” Research UK and The University of Manchester, have received a £105k grant from The Christie Charity to develop a blood test that could detect appendix tumours before they appear on a scan. The grant is part of The Christie 2030 Research Programme, the Charity’s commitment to invest £30 million in cancer research by 2030. Dr Raghavendar Nagaraju (Rags), Honorary Research Fellow at The Christie, and his team have collected blood and tumour samples from over 250 patients. The funding will help researchers assess how effective this blood test is, by showing whether it can provide the same key information as a physical tumour sample. The team is looking for two things: the unique ‘fingerprint’ of an appendix tumour, and fragments of tumour DNA that can reveal specific mutations. “The Christie is one of only two hospitals in the country to treat appendix tumours, so to get this money from our own charity means a lot. Treatment for appendix tumours hasn’t changed in decades, and by doing this work, we are looking at a way of spotting this rare cancer quicker and in a less invasive way,” Rags says “This is a collaborative project between scientists, clinicians and patients who have very kindly gifted us their blood and tissue so we can improve outcomes for other people like them in the future.” A new blood test for appendix cancer Appendix cancer researchers at the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, a partnership between The Christie, Cancer

Reflecting on 15 years of the Oak Road Treatment Centre It’s 15 years since the Oak Road Treatment Centre (ORTC) opened, and two colleagues who have been there for many year have been reflecting on how systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) services have grown to support more patients and increasingly complex care at The Christie. Since opening, the centre has delivered around 550,000 treatments, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy and clinical trial care. Maxine Neville has worked at ORTC since it opened and has seen that growth. “We used to schedule standard treatments only, but now we schedule complex regimes for around twice as many patients, and the team has grown to 25 schedulers,” she says. Supporting patients remains central to the work of the unit. Rhona Johnson, Senior SACT Clinical Educator, recalls helping a patient who was worried that treatment would prevent her from attending a family wedding. “I spoke to the doctors and arranged for her to come the following week instead, so she could enjoy the wedding in Ireland.” Despite changes in treatments and technology, Rhona says the experience for patients has remained constant. “One thing I noticed when I started at The Christie was the ‘family feel’ it had. Patients often comment on this, and say they feel listened to here, and that as nurses we really do care."

Oldham in bloom The courtyard garden at The Christie at Oldham has been given a new lease of life, just in time for spring. It’s been beautifully transformed into a peaceful and accessible space for patients, colleagues and visitors to enjoy. Funded by a grant from The William Dean Countryside and Educational Trust, the garden now features improved wheelchair access and vibrant planting designed to bring colour and calm all year round. The new garden was officially opened by the Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Oldham, and it is already being enjoyed again by patients visiting the centre. The Christie at Oldham delivers around 17,000 radiotherapy treatments every year, helping patients across Greater Manchester receive world-class cancer care closer to home.

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