“Experimental medicine: Investigation undertaken in human beings to identify mechanisms of disease and to test the validity and importance of new discoveries or treatments.”
Experimental medicine, also known as translational research, is a hot topic in the world of cancer science. Put simply, it’s all about taking discoveries made in the lab and turning them into effective new treatments and diagnostic tools for cancer.
It can be a long and sometimes tortuous process, involving experts from many scientific and medical disciplines working together to develop and test new ideas. To speed up the process – and bring benefits to patients faster – Cancer Research UK and the Departments of Health in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have clubbed together to provide £35 million over the next five years to fund a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) across the UK.
This morning, the UK’s drug guidance body, NICE, announced its preliminary decision on whether the NHS should use four new cancer drugs – bevacizumab, sorafenib, sunitinib and temsirolimus – to treat people with kidney cancer that has spread (‘metastatic renal cell carcinoma’).
Despite clinical evidence that these drugs can actually help, NICE has decided that they’re too expensive. In essence, NICE doesn’t think that these four drugs are value-for-money for the NHS.
We’re very disappointed with this decision, and we feel it raises fundamental questions about how NICE evaluates cancer drugs, particularly for cancers that only affect a relatively small number of people.
NICE have stressed that this is a preliminary decision, and are undergoing a public consultation. Cancer Research UK will be making representations to NICE on the matter.
That’s why we’d like to hear what you have to say – if you have a strong opinion on this, please leave your comments below. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a packed month on the podcast, perfect for whiling away a quiet summer moment or two. In the news, we find out about the challenges of raising awareness about cancer in black and minority ethnic communities, as well as hearing from the winners of our SciencePod podcasting competition.
On a science tip, we hear from Cancer Research UK Senior Clinical Research Fellow Christian Ottensmeier, who’s using the very latest DNA technology to develop treatments to ‘trick’ a patient’s immune system into destroying cancer cells. Plus our roving reporter Anna Lacey investigates a hot topic in science, uncovering the mystery of cancer stem cells.
Finally, CancerCampaigns Officer Elaine Londesborough reveals our new political campaign, aiming to keep tobacco “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”. And we celebrate twenty years of working in partnership with HBOS, one of the UK’s biggest banks.
So go to the podcast homepage, where you can listen to the show directly through our Flash player, or click on the player below.
A study reported in the news this month had the potential to confuse many women about the benefits of checking their breasts for unusual changes.
Researchers from Denmark reported in a Cochrane Library Review that there is no evidence that breast cancer death rates are lower amongst women who regularly check their breasts. But we know from several studies that it is mostly women themselves who first report symptoms that may later be diagnosed as breast cancer.
Although this may seem contradictory, it isn’t. The review does not actually tell us anything new – the UK stopped advising a strict routine of breast self-examination back in 1991, and there’s lots of evidence supporting this decision.
Posted by Kat Arney 
Posted by Henry Scowcroft 
It’s a packed month on the podcast, perfect for whiling away a quiet summer moment or two. In the news, we find out about the challenges of raising awareness about cancer in black and minority ethnic communities, as well as hearing from the winners of our 
Posted by Kat Arney 
A study 
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