Colleagues from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ Oncology team have been thanked for their work in recruiting patients to a trial aimed at improving survival and quality of life for men with prostate cancer.
Oncology Consultant, Professor Alison Birtle, and her research team, recently received a formal letter of thanks from the Medical Research Council-based STAMPEDE (Systemic Therapy in Advancing or Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Evaluation of Drug Efficacy) trials unit, for all their hard work put into recruiting and following up patients to the study since 2005.
The study aims to provide evidence as to what is the best way of treating men with newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer, and the team have recruited an impressive 302 patients to the study since it began, with the final day of patient randomisation completed in March 2023, putting the Rosemere Cancer Centre in the top 20 recruiters globally overall for this practice changing study for men with prostate cancer.
The letter reads: “Your hospital’s commitment to recruiting patients to this important study has been essential to its success. Your team endeavoured to make this trial a reality and demonstrated your unwavering commitment to advancing medical knowledge and improving patient outcomes in prostate cancer.”
Many of these studies have changed practice globally and improved survival and quality of life for men with prostate cancer.
According to the STAMPEDE trial website, “Prostate cancer accounts for around one fifth of all male cancers. In the UK there are 47,000 new cases each year and 11,000 deaths.
Professor Birtle said: “Before the STAMPEDE Trial, the outcome for men with advanced prostate cancer was very different, and I am just so pleased that we were able to offer this trial to our patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria. This has changed how we now treat our patients and so each man and their family has been a trailblazer for the patients of today. This is why we do research!”
Stephanie Cornthwaite, Senior Cancer Research Nurse, added: “I am very pleased with the service we have been able to offer our patients and have been lucky to see new treatments become available as part of research studies we have been fortunate to run. While we celebrate the achievement as we should, we do not forget the altruism of the patients who have taken part to enable a better future for the coming generations. Thank you!”
This was one of many cancer research studies in prostate cancer done by the Trust - since then the Rosemere Cancer Centre have opened over 25 studies in prostate cancer alone, recruiting almost 800 patients into these trials
