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Expert Opinion: Professor Herbie Newell

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Oliver Childs

Continuing our ‘Expert Opinion’ series, we interview Professor Herbie Newell, to discover his vision of the future for cancer treatment.

Professor Newell is based at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and has over 30 years’ experience of developing cancer drugs.

As with our previous interviews with Professor Peter Johnson, Dr Nicola McCarthy and Professor Nic Jones, the theme of stratified medicine – using genetic testing to improve treatment for people with cancer – comes through strongly.

Professor Herbie Newell is optimistic about the future of cancer research

Cancer Research UK: For you, what were the hot topics in cancer research last year?

Herbie Newell: I think it’s a reflection of how exciting everything is at the moment that to do that question justice would take a huge amount of time – because there are so many hot topics.

My personal area of research is the discovery of new cancer medicines. And the hot topic there is the concept of ‘stratified medicine’, whereby you combine a targeted therapy with a ‘predictive biomarker’ to select the right patients to treat – and when you do that, you get extremely encouraging results.

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BBC Three documentary on oral sex and cancer

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Hazel Nunn

Image © BBC

Last night’s BBC Three documentary, presented by actress Jaime Winstone, discusses the newest potential cause of cancer – oral sex.

But before you declare a life of celibacy or start railing against those fun-killing scientists, we want to clarify exactly what we do and don’t know on this topic.

The reality is that there are still many pieces missing from the puzzle.

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Podcast: cervical cancer screening, prostate cancer treatment, lung surgery rates and a big day out at Westminster

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Kat Arney

Click on the image to listen to the latest podcast

We’re thinking of changing or stopping our monthly podcasts – but we need to know what you think. Please leave us your feedback about the podcast in the comments below, to help us decide what to do. Thanks.

In this month’s podcast, we’ve got a roundup of the news from the NCRI Cancer Conference in Liverpool, held at the beginning of November.

We find out how HPV testing and vaccination could mean women only have to be screened twice in their life for cervical cancer in the future, while the latest clinical trial results show that radiotherapy combined with hormone therapy boosts survival from advanced prostate cancer.

Also, a new study shows that only half as many lung cancer patients in England are getting potentially lifesaving surgery compared to the best countries in the world. And finally, we hear from our supporters who met their local MPs at Cancer Research UK’s first Westminster lobby event.

Listen to this month’s podcast by clicking on the player below:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Or click here to download the podcast as an mp3.

Also, the podcast is finally available on iTunes to subscribe and download for free.

Alternatively, go to the podcast homepage, where you can hear the show directly through our own Flash player. And there’s also a full transcript of the podcast available here.

We hope you enjoy it – please do let us know what you think of the podcast in the comments below.

Kat

NCRI conference: The Naked Scientists

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Kat Arney

Get the low-down from the Naked Scientists

This week’s Naked Scientists podcast is all about cancer, co-presented live from the NCRI Conference in Liverpool by our own Dr Kat Arney.

The show features Professor Bob Weinberg discussing the hallmarks of cancer, and Dr Stacey Efstathiou talking about the role that viruses may play in the development of the disease. There’s also an in-depth interview with Professor Doug Fearon, investigating the latest news in immunotherapy and cancer.

Plus the team explore the science of ultrasound, a technique sometimes used to detect cancer.

Listen to the podcast through the player below, or from the Naked Scientists’ website:

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To find out more about the stories, download the show, subscribe to the RSS feed or read a full transcript, head over to the Naked Scientists website.

Kat

NCRI Conference: Professor Peter Sasieni on HPV vaccination and cervical screening

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Kat Arney

Our story about how suggested changes to the NHS cervical cancer screening programme, hand in hand with widespread uptake of HPV vaccination, could dramatically cut the number of smear tests a woman needs in her lifetime, has made the headlines today.

We’ve covered this story in depth already on the blog but here’s a short video featuring the researcher at the heart of the story, Professor Peter Sasieni, along with Cancer Research UK’s senior health information manager Hazel Nunn.

They explain the current situation with screening and vaccination, and how this could change in the future.

Transcript to follow

Kat

NCRI conference: Professor Peter Sasieni on HPV vaccination and cervical screening

Our story about how changes to the NHS cervical cancer screening programme, hand in hand with widespread uptake of HPV vaccination, could dramatically cut the number of smear tests a woman needs in her lifetime, has made the headlines today. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11717154 plus more to come]

We’ve covered this story in depth already on the blog [http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2010/11/09/how-could-the-hpv-vaccine-change-our-cervical-screening-programme/], but here’s a short video featuring the researcher at the heart of the story, Professor Peter Sasieni, along with Cancer Research UK’s senior health information manager Hazel Nunn. They explain the current situation with screening and vaccination, and how this could change in the future.

[transcript to follow]

This year, World Cancer Day focuses on preventing cancer

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Henry Scowcroft

Today is World Cancer Day

Cancer is a worldwide health issue.

Added together, the various types of cancer account for an eighth of all deaths worldwide. This is more than malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis put together, according to the International Union Against Cancer (UICC).

Today on World Cancer Day, the UICC is launching a new campaign , “Cancer can be prevented too“, to highlight the fact that a significant proportion of cancer cases in the future could be prevented if people take simple steps to change their lifestyles now.

At Cancer Research UK, we’re strongly supporting this campaign. On our website you can find a wealth of information about how lifestyle and cancer risk are connected, and what you can do if you want to reduce the risk of cancer:

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February podcast is here

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Kat Arney

Click on the image to listen to the latest podcast

In the February podcast we find out how scientists may have found an unexpected use for so-called “junk” DNA, and discover how many cases of cervical cancer could be prevented by the HPV vaccination programme.

As the weather stays grey and cold, it may be tempting to hop on a sunbed. But using sunbeds – especially when young – can increase the risk of skin cancer. We’ve got important news about the progress of a private member’s bill to ban sunbed use for under-18s.

And in case you’re tempted to turn to the bottle to get through the winter gloom, we also bring you a special report on a new campaign from the Department of Health to highlight the health risks of alcohol.

You can listen to the podcast through this player:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Or click here to download the podcast as an mp3.

Alternatively, go to the podcast homepage, where you can hear the show directly through our own Flash player. And there’s also a full transcript of the podcast here.

We hope you enjoy it – please do let us know what you think of the podcast in the comments below.

Kat