Putting pancreatic cancer on the map

Tremendous progress has been made in the treatment of many cancers, such as breast cancer, leukaemia, bowel and testicular cancer. We want the same for pancreatic cancer.

A momentum for progress gets built up when there are plenty of bright brains and good ideas seeking funding. One of the factors limiting research into pancreatic cancer has been the perception amongst some of the research community that it was a disease too difficult to do much about.

One of the charity's aims is to change that perception and encourage more researchers to focus on pancreatic cancer.

NCRI National Cancer Conference 2005

To help achieve that, in collaboration with Cancer Research UK we sponsored a session at the National Cancer Conference in October 2005 - the first cancer conference in the UK to bring together the various cancer societies and groupings.

The session, entitled 'Advances in Pancreatic Cancer', was chaired by Professor Nick Lemoine, head of the Clinical Centre at Bart's and The London, and featured presentations by five leading researchers in the field:

• David Tuveson (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
• Malte Bucholz (University Hospital of Ulm, Germany)
• Tatjana Crnogorac-Jurcevic (Bart's and The London School of Medicine, UK)
• John Neoptolemos (University of Liverpool, UK)
• Margaret Tempero (UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA)

• Read the report summarising all five presentations.
• Listen to interviews with John Neoptolemos and Margaret Tempero at the conference.

John Neoptolemos also gave a press briefing on the research described in his presentation.

A PCRF supporter who is participating in the research coordinated by Professor Neoptolemos's team at Liverpool also took part in the press briefing. John, 59 and from Cambridge, has already lost his father, uncle and sister to the disease. He is currently free of the disease, but is enrolled on the Liverpool study and is having regular check-ups because he too could develop a tumour. He said he and his family were very keen to support the research, not only to help themselves, but to help others at risk of pancreatic cancer.

As well as the press briefing, supporter John was invited to attend the 'Advances in Pancreatic Cancer' presentations. He wrote afterwards: