City’s Docs in Pounds 5m War on Cancer

By CAROLINE INNES

LIVERPOOL doctors are to pioneer new treatments for one of the most deadly forms of cancer after landing pounds 5m worth of funding.

Liverpool is to be one of only three cities in the country to receive the windfall for a new Biomedical Research Unit (BRU) to specialise in pancreatic and digestive diseases which claim hundreds of lives each year.

Pancreatic digestive diseases develop in over 50,000 people per year in the UK, causing major illness and death and costing the nation more than pounds 1bn.

At present there are no specific drugs to treat acute pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis, and even fewer to treat pancreatic cancer meaning the prognosis for patients is bleak.

The Liverpool BRU believe their scientific breakthroughs will allow new drugs to be developed, as well as new diagnostic techniques and preventive strategies, to improve care for patients.

It will be the only unit dedicated to diseases of the pancreas and the funding will provide facilities, equipment and many new staff to save more lives in Liverpool.

Robert Sutton, professor of surgery and consultant surgeon at the Royal, planned the new unit.

He said: “Liverpool is outstanding internationally for biomedical research in pancreatic disease.

“This award is highly significant for the pursuit of new treatments for many patients throughout the UK and the world.

Nowhere else is there any facility like this in the field.”

Talib Yaseen, deputy chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to receive funding for a BRU.”

The new unit will complement the existing NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

carolineinnes@liverpoolecho.co.uk

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