Equity and engagement in cancer research
To mark World Cancer Research Day, the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine held a panel discussion on equity and engagement in cancer research at The Florrie in Liverpool.
The event featured an engaging Q&A session on diversity, inclusion and engagement in cancer research, chaired by Mr Rasheed Zakaria, Senior Clinical Lecturer and Consultant Neurosurgeon. The panel ranged from cancer survivors to research scientists and clinical cancer experts, including representatives from Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA), North West Cancer Research, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool.
The panel organised by Rasheed Zakaria and Dr Lorna Young discussed a wide range of issues such as the impact of socio-economic factors on patient outcomes, the benefits to patients of conducting research locally, barriers to engagement and workforce diversity.
Community engagement was a key topic, with various examples given highlighting the enormous benefits engagement can bring, for example in the development of consent forms.
Jo Trask, CMCA’s Health Inequalities Lead commented: “We need to recognise that we, in the NHS and academia, are not always best placed to inform our communities about cancer. People furthest from services often prefer to get their news locally from trusted community partners. We need to rethink how we share our messages and who delivers them.”
At the recent HSJ Patient Safety Awards, CMCA’s Community Partnerships programme was recognised as ‘Community Care Initiative of the Year’. The programme promotes cancer awareness and screening through voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise grassroots organisations.
Mr Rasheed Zakaria said: “It was really useful to discuss the challenges and potential solutions to achieving equity in cancer research with such a diverse panel, the first time we have held such an event in the city with so many of the relevant stakeholders.”
Panel members
Jo Trask, Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance. Jo leads the Macmillan Patient Experience and Health Inequalities team who have worked on a number of projects to increase access to cancer services by diverse communities in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Dr Shaveta Mehta – Deputy Head of Clinical Research at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust. She trained in India originally and completed her clinical training in the UK including a PhD at Oxford. In her clinical practice she treats patients with brain and spine tumours.
Professor Harish Poptani – University of Liverpool – cancer scientist leading the Centre for Preclinical Imaging with a research focus on developing cutting-edge non-invasive imaging biomarkers for assessing early treatment response in cancer.
Professor John Field - Chair in Molecular Oncology at the University of Liverpool. He has advanced the field of early detection in lung cancer in the UK and globally over decades.
Professor Tim Maughan - Professor of Oncology at the University of Liverpool. Tim is known for his research in colorectal cancer, mainly as a clinical trial leader. Tim has previously chaired the Clinical Research Committee for Cancer Research UK and the Strategy Advisory Group for NCRI.
Alison Moore, Head of Health, Research and Impact at North West Cancer Research.
Lisa Hartley, psychologist and breast cancer survivor