Sunday 5 October
Interview One
Professor Harvey Chochinov
Professor Harvey Chochinov is a psychiatrist and palliative care researcher from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, who is investigating some of the issues that surround death and dying from cancer. In this podcast he talks about some of the issues that people face, and how his work is helping to make a difference.
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Interview Two
Professor Rakesh Jain
Professor Rakesh Jain is from Harvard Medical School, and is director of the tumour biology laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. He and his team are investigating how tumours grow a blood supply – a process known as angiogenesis, and has found some surprising results. In this podcast he explains why this process is so important in cancer, and how his clinical trials have led to an unusual conclusion.
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Interview Three
Dr. Jane Cope
Dr. Jane Cope is the director of the National Cancer Research Institute, who announced a record research spend of nearly £400 million by its partner organisations. In this podcast she describes how this investment in research over the years is paying off, and how the research community is addressing the issue of under-researched cancers, such as lung cancer.
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Interview Four
Professor Michel Coleman
Professor Michel Coleman is professor of epidemiology and vital statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Professor Coleman gave this year’s public lecture on cancer survival and cancer care in the UK compared with the rest of Europe. In this podcast he talks about the data, and discusses whether he agrees with the media’s portrayal of the UK as the sick man of Europe when it comes to cancer.
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Interview Five
Professor Valerie Beral
Valerie Beral is Professor of Epidemiology at Oxford University, and is a leading expert on the risks and causes of breast cancer – the most common cancer in UK women. In this podcast she talks about the main causes of breast cancer, and how we could prevent thousands of cases of the disease in the future.
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Monday 6 October
Interview One
Rebecca Fitzgerald
Rebecca Fitzgerald is a group leader at the Hutchison MRC Research Centre in Cambridge and an honorary consultant at the city’s Addenbrooke’s Hospital with a special interest in oesophageal cancer. In this podcast she explains why it’s so important to detect cancer early, and how she has been testing an unusual technique to spot the early stages of oesophageal cancer.
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Interview Two
Amanda Sandford
Amanda Sandford is the research manager for ASH – Action on Smoking and Health. Smoking causes a number of major health problems, including cancer. In this podcast she talks about the cost of treating these diseases to the NHS.
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Interview Three
Professor Fiona Gilbert
Fiona Gilbert is Professor of Radiology at the University of Aberdeen. She’s just published the results of a large study called CADET 2, investigating whether computers can be used to read mammograms. In this podcast Professor Gilbert explains why the study was carried out, and what the results could mean for the NHS breast screening programme.
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Interview Four
Professor Stan Kaye
Professor Stan Kaye, from the Royal Marsden Hospital, is chair of the 2008 NCRI Conference programme planning committee. In this podcast he discusses his highlights from the first two days of the meeting, and the strands that run through the conference programme.
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Tuesday 7 October
Interview One
David Forman
David Forman leads on information and analysis for the National Cancer Intelligence Network. In this podcast he explains what the NCIN was set up to achieve, and how his analysis is revealing startling new trends in cancer across the UK.
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InterviewTwo
Professor Kim Nasmyth
Professor Kim Nasmyth heads the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. He discovered cohesin – the molecule that holds together newly-copied DNA strands within the cell. In this podcast he talks about cohesin and its role in cell division, and explains his important new discovery about the way it works.
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Interview Three
Howard Scher
Howard Scher heads the Genitourinary Oncology Service at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He’s working on improving treatment for men with prostate cancer whose tumours have become resistant to hormone therapy. In this podcast he explains how his work is making the connection between molecular changes in cancers and clinical outcomes.
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Interview Four
Professor Joe Gray
Professor Joe Gray is from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at San Francisco, with a special interest in the treatment of breast cancer. In this podcast, he discusses how his research is leading towards more effective, tailored treatment for breast cancer.
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Interview Five
Professor Mike Richards
Professor Mike Richards is the National Cancer Director for England, and he chaired a session at the conference on the costs of cancer care. In this podcast he explains the current situation, and discusses how money could be used more effectively within the NHS for cancer services.
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Wednesday 8 October
Interview One
Professor Nazneen Rahman
Nazneen Rahman is Professor of Human Genetics at the Institute of Cancer Research in Surrey. She’s an expert in the genetics of childhood cancer, including Wilms’ tumour – a type of childhood kidney cancer. In this podcast she explains more about the disease, and how her new discovery could bring benefits to children with this disease.
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Interview Two
Mariano Barbacid
Mariano Barbacid is the director of Spain’s National Centre for Cancer Research, and he’s well known for his work on the cancer gene Ras. In this podcast he discusses the importance of Ras in cancer, an how he’s trying to understand more about how it works.
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Wednesday 3 October Plenary Sessions
Future prospects for targeted therapies
Frank McCormick
Plenary Session: Future prospects for targeted therapies - The BACR Tom Connors Lecture
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Tuesday 2 October Plenary Sessions
Using cancer genomics to inform targeted drug development
Barbara Weber
Plenary Session: Using cancer genomics to inform targeted drug development - The Medical Research Council Lecture
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Nutritional and molecular biomarkers in cancer prevention
Shiela Bingham
Plenary Session: Nutritional and molecular biomarkers in cancer prevention - The Medical Research Council Lecture
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Tuesday 2 October Podcast Interviews
Interview Eight
Sandy Craine
Phase I clinical trials can benefit patients as well as test the safety of new cancer drugs.
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Interview Seven
Ian Judson
Phase I clinical trials can benefit patients as well as test the safety of new cancer drugs.
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Interview Six
Fran Balkwill
Immunotherapy has the potential to turn the immune system from a cancer helper into a cancer killer.
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Interview Five
Daniel Palmer
Dr Palmer explains how a genetically modified cold virus could help to treat cancer.
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Interview Four
Andy Gescher
The challenge in cancer prevention is translating research findings into public prevention measures.
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Interview Three
Guy Makin
A new drug has shown promising pre-clinical activity against cells from several types of children’s cancer.
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Interview Two
Graham Taylor and Neil Steven
Graham Taylor and Neil Steven: Research on a common virus has led to trials testing whether a vaccine can help treat cancer.
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Interview One
Catherine West
Dr West discusses her work trying to reduce the side effects of radiotherapy without reducing its effectiveness.
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Tuesday 2 October Plenary Sessions
Living beyond cancer: the challenges of surviorship care
Mary McCabe
Plenary Session: Living beyond cancer: the challenges of surviorship care - The Cancer Research UK Lecture
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Pancreatic cancer models and medicine
David Tuveson
Plenary Session: Pancreatic cancer models and medicine - The Cancer Research UK Lecture
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Monday 1 October Podcast Interviews
Interview Five
Max Parkin
Lifestyle changes could prevent one in ten cases of breast cancer by 2024 according to Prof Parkin.
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Interview Four
Paul Symonds
The identification of two genes may lead to a test that predicts adverse reactions to radiotherapy.
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Interview Three
Robert Clarke
Prof Clarke discusses his research into the regulation of breast cancer stem cells.
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Interview Two
Andrew Green
Dr Green explains what the identification of six distinct types of breast cancer might mean for patients.
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Interview One
Edzard Ernst
The eminent professor of complementary medicine talks about his work and the role of CAM in cancer treatment.
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Monday 1 October Plenary Sessions
Structure and mechanism of the HSP90 molecular chaperone
Laurence Pearl
Plenary Session: Structure and mechanism of the HSP90 molecular chaperone - The Leukaemia Research Fund Lecture
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Drugging the undruggable
Gregory Verdine
Plenary Session: Drugging the undruggable - The CR-UK London Research Institue Lecture
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Sunday 30 September Podcast Interviews
Interview Three
Hilary Wareing
Second hand smoke exposure has fallen by 95 percent since the smoking ban was introduced in England.
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Interview Two
Amanda Ramirez
Informing older women about breast cancer raises awareness and could help to improve survival rates.
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Interview One
Prof Greg Verdine
Professor Verdine discusses his work developing a new class of cancer drugs targeting ’undruggable’ proteins
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Sunday 30 September Plenary Sessions
Targeting epigenetic alterations in breast cancer
Nancy Davidson
Plenary Session: Targeting epigenetic alterations in breast cancer - The CR-UK Cambridge Research Institue Lecture
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Sensing of infection and anti-tumour immunity
Caetano Sousa
Plenary Session: Sensing of infection and anti-tumour immunity - The AstraZeneca Lecture
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Promoting early presentation with cancer
Amanda Ramirez
Plenary Session: Promoting early presentation with cancer - The Economic and Social Research Council Lecture
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Mouse Models for Cancer
Anton Berns
Plenary Session: Mouse Models for Cancer - The Beatson Institute for Cancer Research Lecture
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Public Seminar
Drug Hunting to Beat Cancer
Prof. Roger Griffin
Roger Griffin’s Public Seminar and Open Forum
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Preview Podcast: Introducing the Conference
Conference Introduction
Prof Mike Richards
In our final preview podcast, Professor Mike Richards,Chair of the the NCRI and National Cancer Director talks about his hopes for the conference this year, as well as highlighting the sessions he is most interested in hearing. But first, he discusses the progress that the UK has made in beating cancer over the past year. Professor Richards also addresses the issue of the cost of cancer drugs, now and in the future, as well as the importance of research.
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Preview Podcast: Roger Wilson
Roger Wilson on the 2007 Conference
Roger Wilson
Roger Wilson, outgoing chair of the NCRI Consumer Liaison Group, discusses the pivotal role of cancer patients and carers in the NCRI’s work, and the opportunities for them to meet senior researchers and learn more about cancer at the 2007 NCRI Cancer Conference. He talks about the session he is chairing on survival strategies, and looks forward to productive exchanges between patients, clinicians and scientists at the Conference this year.
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Preview Podcast: Public Lecture
Drug Hunting To Beat Cancer
Roger Griffin
Roger Griffin, professor of medicinal chemistry at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research in Newcastle, speaks ahead of the Conference. Prof Griffin will be giving this year’s public lecture, and he explains why it’s important to engage the public with research. He also describes how basic science gets translated into potential new treatments, and tells us what he’s most looking forward to at the 2007 NCRI Cancer Conference.
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Podcast One: Rene Bernards
RNA Interference May Rapidly Improve Cancer Treatments
Rene Bernards
RNA interference is a new technique that could lead to better and more personalised cancer therapy. René Bernards from the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam told the NCRI Cancer Conference how it works, and has already been used to find a treatment for a benign skin tumour called cylindromatosis.
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Podcast Two: John Neoptolemos
New Tests, New Treatments: Better Survival Prospects in Pancreatic Cancer
John Neoptolemos
Pessimism about pancreatic cancer should now give way to optimism according to John Neoptolemos of Liverpool University and Margaret Tempero, from the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Francisco who discussed latest progress in treatment and detection of this disease at the NCRI Cancer Conference.
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Podcast Three: Margaret Tempero
New Tests, New Treatments: Better Survival Prospects in Pancreatic Cancer
Margaret Tempero
Pessimism about pancreatic cancer should now give way to optimism according to John Neoptolemos of Liverpool University and Margaret Tempero, from the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Francisco who discussed latest progress in treatment and detection of this disease at the NCRI Cancer Conference.
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Podcast Four: Bruce Ponder
DNA Chips Could Accelerate Search for Breast Cancer Genes
Bruce Ponder
It seems there are more genes involved in breast cancer than previously thought – but how can we find them? Bruce Ponder from the University of Cambridge told the NCRI Cancer Conference about a new DNA chip-based technique that could speed up the search.
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Podcast Five: Herbie Newell
PARP Inhibitors: New Drugs Targeting DNA Repair Show Encouraging Results
Herbie Newell
A new class of drugs, called PARP inhibitors, could eventually lead to an improvement in the treatment of women with inherited breast and ovarian cancer. Herbie Newell, of the Northern Institute of Cancer Research in Newcastle, told the NCRI Cancer Conference about the work his group and others are doing.
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Podcast Six: Wendy Atkin
National Health Service Screening Initiative for Bowel Cancer
Wendy Atkin
60-69 year olds in Britain are to receive fecal occult blood testing to achieve a significant mortality improvement in bowel cancer. Wendy Atkin, of Imperial College, London, presented details at the NCRI Cancer Conference.
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Podcast Seven: Malcolm Pike
Chemoprevention of Breast Cancer: A Strategy
Malcolm Pike
Breast cancer can be prevented by the manipulation of hormones, as explained at the first NCRI Cancer Conference by Malcolm Pike from the Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.
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Podcast Eight: Sir Richard Peto
The Hazards of Smoking and the Benefits of Stopping
Sir Richard Peto
50-year data on the hazards of smoking were presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference by Sir Richard Peto of Oxford University. Look closely at the picture: he wore Sir Richard Doll’s tie at the Birmingham meeting.
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Podcast Nine: Jessica Corner & Jenny Walton
Research Priorities as Identified by Patients
Jessica Corner & Jenny Walton
A group of cancer patients has conducted original research on priorities for cancer research as identified by patients rather than health-care professionals. At the NCRI Cancer Conference, Jessica Corner of the University of Southampton and cancer patient Jenny Walton presented surprising findings. Cancer survivor Jenny Walton is one of the study investigators looking into cancer research priorities from patients’ points of view.
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Podcast Ten: Will Steward
FOCUS Trial Could Influence UK Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment
Will Steward
Results from the FOCUS study, which compared a number of treatment regimes for metastatic colorectal cancer, may suggest that standard practice in the UK should be changed. Will Steward of the University of Leicester discussed the data at the NCRI Cancer Conference.
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Podcast Eleven: Paul Workman
Inhibiting the Hsp90 Chaperone Protein: One Target Could Affect Many
Paul Workman
The protein Hsp90, which helps some other proteins to fold in the cell, seems an attractive target for cancer therapy because its inhibition could have multiple knock-on effects. Paul Workman of the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey explained some of the latest research to the NCRI Cancer Conference.
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Podcast Twelve: Alex Markham
NCRI Chairman Reflects on the Conference
Alex Markham
Alex Markham was Chairman of the NCRI at the time and is the Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK. He spoke briefly about his impressions of the first NCRI Cancer Conference
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