“Clinical trials help us to keep moving forward” | Celebrating 25 years of Sheffield's Cancer Clinical Trials Centre

For over 25 years, Weston Park Cancer Charity has been supporting the crucial work of the Cancer Clinical Trials Centre (CCTC). The CCTC, which is located in Weston Park Cancer Centre, is a hub of research excellence for our region. The trials that take place there give patients the opportunity to access new treatments and inform the way we tackle cancer on an international scale.

Weston Park Cancer Charity currently funds a number of the CCTC’s research nurses. These nurses organise trials, recruit participants, support patients, and co-ordinate treatment and assessment.

In our latest research nurse interview, we spoke to Charlotte Downes – who has recently celebrated her own 25 years of service in the NHS.

Could you tell me about your career background and your role at the CCTC?

I’ve been a research nurse for 19 years, and I’ve worked in the NHS for the past 25. My entire career has been focused on cancer care. I’ve worked with many types of cancers, including head and neck cancer, breast cancer, gynaecological, and urological.

What first made you want to get involved in cancer research and how has the field progressed over your career?

Over the past 25 years there have been huge improvements in the standard of care that we can provide and seeing that progress keeps me really motivated.

When the breast cancer drug Herceptin was introduced, it could only be given on a research trial, and it used to take us six to eight hours to administer it and complete all the necessary observations. Now it’s widely available and can be given as a simple injection into the leg. That’s just one example of the many amazing changes I’ve seen throughout my career. With the technology available to us now, I feel even more positive about the future of cancer care.

What could a typical day at work look like for you?

A typical day could start with a clinic, so I’d be preparing our patients and supporting them throughout. We’re always working on a variety of trials, so I’m normally also sorting out admin and recruiting patients. Quite a bit of my work takes place at the Hallamshire Hospital, so I’ll often meet patients there too. Most of my days don’t involve much sitting down!

This month is prostate cancer awareness month. Could you tell us more about this type of cancer and the related research taking place at the CCTC?

Prostate cancer accounts for around a fifth of all male cancers in the UK – that’s 47,000 new cases each year and 11,000 deaths. Black men are particularly at risk; one in four black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Because of this increased risk, we’re working hard to recruit more black men onto our prostate cancer trials.

At the CCTC we’re working on several prostate cancer trials, including one called STAMPEDE. This trial started in 2005 and explores treatment approaches for people with advanced prostate cancer. Through this trial, we’ve studied how things like additional chemotherapy, new hormone therapies, oestrogen patches, and the diabetes drug metformin have had an impact on prostate cancer and life expectancy. STAMPEDE has reported a number of major results, some of which have changed practice. The STAMPEDE trial will be closing in the next year but a new trial called STAMPEDE2 continues its legacy by studying more new treatments for newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer.

Why are clinical trials so important for the future of cancer care?

Clinical trials help us to keep moving forward. For some types of cancer, we might only have one or two treatment options available. Clinical trials help us to find new treatments and raise the standard of care for everyone.

How does funding from Weston Park Cancer Charity impact the CCTC and its patients?

The funding that Weston Park Cancer Charity provides to the CCTC is paramount - especially as it helps to pay towards the research staff who run the centre’s trials. The charity also supports us by giving our patients a supportive treatment environment that helps them to feel calm and relaxed.

You can enable life-changing cancer research and support the Cancer Clinical Trials Centre by making a donation today.