News
Attendance at Bone Cancer Research Trust Conference (September 2024)
Professor Gareth Veal attended and presented at the Bone Cancer Research Trust conference held in Leeds on Saturday 28th September, 2024. The well attended meeting provided insights into the latest developments in bone cancer research, updates on the wider work of the charity and opportunities to meet and hear from patients and families affected by bone cancer. An inspiring and thought provoking day which acted to remind us all why we carry out the research that we do.
Grant Award from Fight Kids Cancer (August 2024)
The group are delighted to be part of the ITCC Brain Translational Accelerator Platform (ITCC BrainTAP) which has been awarded a grant of 2 Million Euros through the charity Fight Kids Cancer. The project is designed to bridge the translational gap from initial study hypothesis through to a fully-fledged pre-clinical data package in support of a clinical trial protocol. The objective is to enable comprehensive in vivo pre-clinical investigations of up to 16 therapy/disease combinations, encompassing all major paediatric brain tumour entities, leading to high-quality pre-clinical data packages that will support Go/No-Go decisions on their entry into early-phase trials. Further information can be found through the charity's website (https://fightkidscancer.eu/project/call-2024/#call_4).
Fundraising Event for Childhood Cancer Charities (July 2024)
Several members of the NCCPG were involved in both organising and participating in a sponsored cycle ride from Newcastle to Leeds on Saturday 6th July. The event involved a group of cancer researchers and cycling enthusiasts cycling the 105 mile distance between the cities and a total of well over £16,000 was raised for the childhood cancer charities Children's Cancer North (CCN) in Newcastle and Candlelighters in Leeds. A report on the event has now been published on the CCN website (https://childrenscancernorth.org.uk/news/newcastle-to-leeds-cycling-fundraiser-raises-over-16000-for-childrens-cancer-north-and-candlelighters-charities/).
Research Nurse Training Event (March 2024)
The group held another well attended national research nurse training day on 11/12th March. The event was attended by 40 nurses from 21 centres from around the UK and covered areas including biobanking, clinical pharmacology trials and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) approaches to patient treatment, in addition to an evening social in Newcastle city centre. The group would like to thank the ECMC, the CCLG and Vesynta for generously sponsoring the event.
Carboplatin Dosing Guidelines Publication (November 2023)
The November issue of the British Journal of Cancer contained an original research article from our group focusing on carboplatin therapeutic drug monitoring in neonates and infants (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-023-02456-y#article-info). The manuscript highlights the benefits of this approach to treatment for a particularly challenging patient group and proposes new dosing regimen guidelines based on a sound pharmacological rationale.
New Clinical Trial Publications (July 2023)
We are pleased to have been involved in a number of early phase clinical trials that have been published in 2023. Of particular note a study reporting on the safety and anti-tumour activity of the first in class MOv18 IgE antibody therapy was published in Nature Communications this month (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39679-9). In addition members of the group are co-authors on two early phase trial manuscripts published in the British Journal of Cancer, focusing on the Chk1 inhibitor SRA737 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-023-02279-x) and the first in class sphingolipid regulator idroxioleic acid (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-023-02356-1). Finally, results from a phase I dose escalation study of the MCT1 inhibitor AZD3965 have now been published in Clinical Cancer Research (https://aacrjournals.org/clincancerres/article/29/8/1429/725075/A-Phase-I-Dose-escalation-Study-of-AZD3965-an-Oral).
Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition (April 2023)
A collaborative project with UCL entitled ChromaDose, funded through the NIHR i4i programme, has been selected to be exhibited at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2023 in July. This is the most prestigious outreach event in the country and will be a great opportunity to provide some good visibility for our research.
CRUK PhD Studentship Funding (February 2023)
We are delighted to have received funding from Cancer Research UK for a 4 year PhD Studentship to start in October, 2023. The project entitled 'Optimisation of chemotherapy regimens to improve the outcome of children undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and cancer treatment' will be supervised by Professor Gareth Veal, Dr Shelby Barnett and Professor Sophie Hambleton. We look forward to advertising the post and interviewing potential candidates in the coming weeks.
Bioanalysis Rising Star Award (November 2022)
Following on from the recent success of winning the 2022 BPS Bill Bowman prize, Dr Shelby Barnett has now also been announced as winner of the 2022 Bioanalysis Rising Star Award. The BRSA is an annual award that recognizes and promotes the work of talented early-career scientists, offering researchers a springboard to help establish themselves in the exciting world of bioanalysis. In recognition of the award, Shelby receives a prize of $1,000 and an invited speaker presentation at the European Bioanalysis Forum meeting in Barcelona.
Research Funding Awards (October 2022)
The group are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a 3 year Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst grant of £1.3million, in collaboration with Vesynta, for a project entitled ‘Dosologic: a precision dosing software optimising chemotherapy for children’. This will allow us to further develop our recent exciting and productive collaboration with the team at Vesynta based down in London. In addition, the group have received a 2 year grant for £27,750 from the JGW Patterson Foundation for a project entitled ‘Identification of pharmacological, genetic and biological factors that correlate with cisplatin toxicity in a childhood cancer setting’.
Prestigious Award for Team Member (August 2022)
It is a pleasure to announce that group member Dr Shelby Barnett has been announced as the winner of the prestigious British Pharmacology Society Bill Bowman prize for 2022. This biennial prize is awarded to support the professional development of a promising early career scientist in the field of pharmacology. She will receive an award of £500, a lecture at a Society meeting, and up to £5,000 in travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses to support a 3-week research visit to Australasia later this year.
Research Nurse Training Event (July 2022)
The group held an enjoyable and well attended research nurse training day on 7/8th July. The event was attended by 27 nurses from 15 national centres and covered areas including biobanking, early phase clinical trials, pharmacology and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) approaches to patient treatment, in addition to an evening social in Newcastle city centre. The group would like to thank the ECMC, the CCLG and Vesynta for generously sponsoring the event.
Group Announced as Winners of National Award (April 2022)
The group were delighted to be announced as winners of the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) 2022 ‘Innovation in Practice Award’ at the organisation’s gala dinner in Nottingham earlier this month. This was awarded for the group’s work in establishing a national Therapeutic Drug Monitoring programme of work which is now used by hospitals across the UK to support the dosing of some of the most challenging childhood cancer patients, including neonates and infants.
New Publications from the Group (March 2022)
This month’s European Journal of Cancer contains back-to-back publications from the group, alongside an editorial highlighting the work, focusing on the importance of precision dosing in childhood cancer patients. The first manuscript is an original report focusing on vincristine dosing in neonate and infant patients, which provides dosing guidance for this challenging patient population. The second manuscript is a review paper, which provides evidence-based dosing guidance for a wide range of cytotoxic drugs based on a knowledge of clinical pharmacology in neonate and infant patients. Both manuscripts can be found in the March issue of the European Journal of Cancer.
Group Nomination for CCLG Award (February 2022)
The group have been shortlisted by the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) for the 2022 ‘Innovation in Practice Award’ for the establishment of a national Therapeutic Drug monitoring programme of work. This award is designed to recognise teams finding new ways to solve problems to deliver for the public, showing commitment to new ideas and experimentation, and transforming care in the area of childhood cancer. The award winners will be announced at a CCLG Awards Evening on Monday 4th April.
New Manuscript in Frontiers in Oncology (December 2021)
A manuscript focusing on the development of the group's therapeutic drug monitoring national programme of work has been accepted for publication in the journal Frontiers in Oncology. The article presents an overview of this novel approach to treatment for particularly challenging childhood cancer patients from the perspectives of clinicians, scientists and pharmacists involved in its implementation. The manuscript is available as an open access article through the journal website.
European Journal of Cancer Publication (October 2021)
A research article entitled 'Vincristine dosing, drug exposure and therapeutic drug monitoring in neonate and infant cancer patients' is now available as an article in press in the European Journal of Cancer. The manuscript highlights current issues with dosing neonate and infant patients with the widely used anticancer drug vincristine and supports the use of therapeutic drug monitoring to avoid potentially suboptimal drug exposures in this challenging patient population. Vincristine dosing guidance is provided for the future treatment of neonate and infant patients.
CCLG Little Princess Trust Project Grant Award (August 2021)
The group have been successful with an application for a 2 year grant for £175k from the CCLG Little Princess Trust for a project entitled 'Optimisation of the Treatment of Childhood Cancer Patient Populations through the use of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring'. This funding will allow continuation of an exciting programme of work which is positively impacting on the treatment of some of the most challenging childhood cancer patient groups.
Bone Cancer Research Trusting Funding Award (July 2021)
We are delighted to announce that the group have been successful in applying for a Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) research project grant. The funding of £150k is for a 2 year project entitled 'Optimising the Treatment of Teenagers and Young Adults with Ewing Sarcoma through an Increased Understanding of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicity Biomarkers' and more information can be found on the BCRT website.
New Drug Formulation Study Published (May 2021)
This month has seen the publication of a manuscript from the group, reporting on the safety and clinical pharmacology of a novel oral liquid formulation of 13-cis retinoic acid in children with neuroblastoma. The study published in the journal Cancers, showed that the liquid formulation demonstrated superior bioavailability, increasing the likelihood of achieving therapeutic levels, and that safety and palatability also compared favourably to the capsule formulation. This new formulation is now available from Nova Laboratories and offers a clear positive impact for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma patients.
New Publications in 2021 (April 2021)
The first quarter of 2021 has seen a number of manuscripts accepted for publication from the pharmacology group. A manuscript reporting on the development of a novel assay now being used in a Phase I clinical trial for the Bicycle Drug Conjugate BT1718, has been published in the journal Bioanalysis. Two important papers have also been published in the childhood cancer space, with a study investigating the pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics of cyclophosphamide in neonates and infants being published in Pharmaceuticals, along with a manuscript published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reporting on a decade of experience with therapeutic drug monitoring for the anticancer drug carboplatin. Finally, a collaborative study with the University of Perugia was published this month in the journal Leukemia. Further details of these new papers can be found in the ‘Our Outputs’ section of the website.
NIHR i4i Product Development Award (Feb 2021)
The project is titled, 'In-vitro diagnostic device development and validation, enabling point-of-care therapeutic drug monitoring for dose optimisation of anthracycline chemotherapy in a paediatric cancer setting'.
The £977,609 grant, in collaboration with colleagues at UCL, will be used to develop a novel device to measure drug levels in patients in order to control drug exposure. The aim is to avoid unnecessary side-effects for a group of drugs widely used in childhood cancer treatment.
Innovate UK Award (Jan 2021)
Phil Berry was awarded £75k from Innovate UK in September 2020, for a 3 year project entitled: Establishing a translational leader in precision medicine through knowledge transfer to develop point-of-care drug monitoring technologies.
Cancer Research UK Funding Award (2020)
The first platform study investigating the safety of DNA Damage response inhibitors in combination with curative intent doses of radiotherapy in stage II and III lung Cancer CONCORDE was funded by Cancer Research UK and will shortly announce its 1st pharmaceutical partner. It is led by Dr Alastair Greystoke and key biomarkers of cardiac toxicity will be analysed within the group.