Early Detection and Diagnosis of Cancer Roadmap – Building bridges for collaboration and impact
cancer Workshop
Early Detection and Diagnosis of Cancer Roadmap – Building bridges for collaboration and impact
EPSRC Fast Assessment and Treatment in Healthcare (FAST Healthcare) NetworksPlus and Cancer Research UK joined forces to deliver a multidisciplinary workshop that aimed at exploring and finding solutions to some of the key challenges in the early detection and diagnosis of cancer. This workshop built on previous work by Cancer Research UK in developing a Roadmap outlining opportunities in this field and recommendations for action to help achieve meaningful patient impact.
Who is EPSRC Fast Assessment and Treatment in Healthcare (FAST Healthcare) NetworksPlus?
The EPSRC Fast Assessment and Treatment in Healthcare (FAST Healthcare) NetworksPlus is a Network of academics, clinicians and industrialists that aims to promote joined-up treatment in public health by taking a holistic view of clinical assessment and treatment pathways and developing solutions that deliver real impact on clinical treatment processes and patient outcomes. We will achieve this by initiating new research collaborations in the engineering and physical sciences community in the UK.
Who is Cancer Research UK?
Cancer Research UK is the world’s largest independent cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. It supports research into all aspects of cancer and this is achieved through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. Cancer Research UK wants to accelerate progress so that three in four people survive their cancer for 10 years or more by 2034.
The clinical challenge
Earlier diagnosis of cancer offers the greatest potential for transformational improvements in patient outcomes. The chances of survival are increased significantly for almost all patient groups if the disease can be diagnosed and treated at an early stage. For example, a patient diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer has over 70% chance of survival beyond one year. This drops to less than 15% if diagnosed at stage 4.
FAST Healthcare NetworkPlus and Cancer Research UK invited participants from across disciplines to integrate their skills and expertise to work collaboratively to tackle this challenge. Cancer Research UK previously brought together experts across different sectors in 2019 to help develop an Early Detection and Diagnosis of Cancer Roadmap. This Roadmap aims to define a shared vision for early detection and diagnosis of cancer and provide a series of concrete actions that will help the field progress from the current reality to this shared vision. One of the key outputs from this Roadmap is a set of prioritised research interventions each addressing a well-defined early detection challenge. The recommendations made by the Roadmap are intended to shape not only CRUK’s early detection and diagnosis strategy, but the field at large.
Aims of this workshop
Through the workshop FAST Healthcare NetworkPlus, supported by Cancer Research UK, sought to integrate an engineering and physical sciences approach to selected prioritised research interventions from the Roadmap to help achieve progress. Details of these areas were advertised before the workshop. Attendees were invited to indicate which of the three areas they are particularly interested in; analysis of electronic health records, wearables and point of care, and digital health twins.
This was a one-day workshop on 18 February 2020 at Robinson College, Cambridge in collaboration with the Cancer Research UK Early Detection Programme.
Programme
9.00-9.30 Registration
SESSION 1 Introduction & Analysis of electronic health records
9.30-9.45 Andrew Flewitt & Alexis Webb
9.45-10.05 Adam Brentnall, Alan Turing Institute, London
10.05-10.25 Brendan Delaney, Imperial College, London
10.25-11.00 Discussion/Table analysis
11.00-11.30 Tea and coffee break
SESSION 2 Wearables & Point of care
11.30-11.50 Andrew Flewitt, University of Cambridge
11.50-12.25 Discussion
12.25-13.25 Lunch and networking
SESSION 3 Digital health twins
13.25-13.45 Vanessa Diaz, University College London
13.45-14.20 Discussion
SESSION 4 Networking
14.20-14.40 Marc van der Schee, Owlstone, Cambridge
14.40-15.00 Tea and coffee break
15.00-15.45 Networking time
15.45-16.15 Networking presentations
4.30 pm Meeting close
You can download the report on this workshop, including the produced roadmaps, as a PDF.
Who organised the Workshop?
The Workshop was put together by Professor Andrew Flewitt (Engineering Department, Cambridge University) for the EPSRC Fast Assessment and Treatment NetworksPlus in collaboration with the Early Detection team from Cancer Research UK and Wendy Alderton from the CRUK Cambridge Centre.
Confirmed speakers included:
Brendan Delaney, Imperial College, London
Adam Brentnall, Alan Turing Institute, London
Vanessa Diaz, University College London
Marc van der Schee, Owlstone, Cambridge
For more information on this workshop, please contact info@fast-healthcare.org.uk.