Bowel cancer patients in Yorkshire will continue to benefit from improvements in diagnosis and treatment.

Yorkshire Cancer Research have announced that they will continue to fund our important research for a further five years with a funding boost of £2.1million.

Philip Quirke, Professor of Pathology who leads our study said: “There is currently a postcode lottery in terms of treatment for bowel cancer. Our vision is to improve treatment for people with bowel cancer and ensure more people survive. We want to offer the latest medical advances and make Yorkshire the best place for managing patients with bowel cancer. We also want to make Yorkshire the best place to do bowel cancer research so people in Yorkshire can benefit first.”

The continuation of our funding means that we can continue to work towards our goal of bringing gold-standard care to every part of the region.

The Yorkshire Cancer Research Bowel Cancer Improvement Programme began in 2017 and has already improved the processes that clinicians across Yorkshire use to treat patients in areas such as advanced disease and radiotherapy.  Our team has also improved the checking of patients for potential adverse reactions to treatment, so doctors can avoid giving certain treatments to those who are likely to suffer severe side effects.

In addition, our team has investigated the quality and consistency of radiology in Yorkshire and provided training to improve the quality of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for rectal cancer. In surgery, the team has shared key data with multi-disciplinary teams and made improvements in ‘abdominoperineal excision’, which is an operation to remove the rectum and anal canal.

Our programme has also helped to introduce screening for inherited genetic conditions which increase the risk of developing bowel cancer, including Lynch syndrome.

Dr Kathryn Scott, Chief Executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “This is about taking a holistic approach to bowel cancer diagnosis and treatment in our region. It is essential that hospitals in Yorkshire are able to learn from each other and adopt the most successful ways of working so that areas for improvement can be identified and the necessary changes implemented.

“By creating a clear picture of bowel cancer treatment in Yorkshire, bringing together experts from all points in a patient’s journey and taking action to tackle local problems, we can ensure all patients receive gold standard care, irrespective of where they live and where they are treated.”