Cancer Screening & Prevention Research Group

Imperial researchers include Prof Amanda Cross & Nefeli Taravira (Surgery and Cancer), Prof Elio Riboli, Prof Marc Gunter, Sherry Morris, David Muller & Rawan Maawadh (School of Public Health), Doris Chan, Ahmed Jayedi, Kostas Tsilidis, Margarita Cariolou (WCRF CUP)

Group photo showing Imperial College London researchers at the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition annual meeting in Rome - Professor Amanda Cross, Nefeli Taravira, Professor Elio Riboli, Professor Marc Gunter, Sherry Morris, David Muller, Rawan Maawadh, Doris Chan, Ahmed Jayedi, Kostas Tsilidis, Margarita Cariolou

Our @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social colleagues were gathered this week for @who.int IARC EPIC annual meeting to share and discover the wide range of #cancerresearch studies being carried out across this important cohort.
@wcrf.org

Cancer researcher Rawan Maawadh giving a talk with a screen behind showing her slide presentation

Also at EPIC is @imperialmed.bsky.social
#PhD candidate Rawan Maawadh (supervisor Prof Amanda Cross) giving a talk on 'Proteomic Signatures of #Obesity and their Associations with #ColorectalCancer in a Case-Cohort Study in EPIC'

Cancer researcher Nefeli Taravira standing beside her research poster

Our @imperialmed.bsky.social #PhD candidate Nefeli Taravira is at Rome today for @who.int IARC EPIC annual meeting presenting her research on 'The impact of #education, #smoking and #alcohol on oesophageal squamous cell #carcinoma risk in the EPIC cohort'

Congrats to @imperialsandc.bsky.social postdoc Dr Rhea Harewood on receiving the @cancerresearchuk.org Bridge to Academic Leadership Award! This award will support Rhea in building skills to pursue independent research & transition to group leadership in the field of proximal bowel cancer aetiology

Thrilled to share that Fangqing Li has been awarded a China Scholarship Council @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social Scholarship!

She'll rejoin CSPRG in July as a fully funded PhD student, focusing on early-onset colorectal cancer.

Welcome back Fangqing!

#PhD #CancerResearch @imperialsandc.bsky.social

@imperialbrc.bsky.social-funded Dr Rhea Harewood & Kelly Gleason led a great #BowelCancerAwareness online session, supported by @imperialsandc.bsky.social, with Harrow THCOGIC Church members last week!

They covered bowel cancer causes, public involvement in research, & Rhea's future research plans

A huge thank you to the 3 brilliant speakers (& their supportive colleagues) from @imperialnhs.bsky.social, @imperialsandc.bsky.social who joined Dr Harewood for a PPI session with 58 EKTA Harrow community members

Valuable discussions had on breast & prostate cancer awareness & current research!

More @cancerresearchuk.org #PrevConf25 final day action
✅Heavyweight academics slug it out over GLP1 agonists importance (or not) for #cancerprevention
✅Prof Karen Brown weighs in on drugs for precision cancer prevention

www.cancerresearchuk.org/funding-for-...

Busy week catching up with all the latest in #cancerprevention at @cancerresearchuk.org #PrevConf25
✅Pressing agenda
✅Brilliant talks
✅Thought-provoking debates
✅Opportune catch-up with colleagues & collaborators

www.cancerresearchuk.org/funding-for-...

Come see our researchers present their research next week and check out our Keynote as well!!!

@imperialmed.bsky.social @imperial-csprg.bsky.social @imperial-edu.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social

This is the first study to show an association between distal polyp characteristics & long-term proximal colon cancer risk, helping to inform who might benefit from colonoscopy, and providing evidence for future updates of post-polypectomy surveillance guidelines.

Read it here: t.co/P6P4wA8zxF

New analyses of #UKFSST data identify distal polyp characteristics associated with future proximal colon cancer risk.

Funders: @cancerresearchuk.org @nihr.bsky.social

Authors: R Harewood, K Wooldrage, E Robbins, J Kinross, C Wagner & AJ Cross

Journal: @bmj.com Open Gastroenterology

New paper alert!

Larger or high-grade dysplastic distal adenomas found on flexi-sig screening are associated with ⬆️ risk of future proximal colon cancer.

No associations for number or histology of distal adenomas or any distal hyperplastic polyp characteristics

@bmj.com OpenGastro
t.co/P6P4wA8zxF

We took a break from the office to celebrate the successful PhD vivas of both Emma and Sharon with a sunny picnic! It was great to have the opportunity to mark this achievement as a group, congratulations to you both!
#PhDone

Thanks @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social @helencolemanqub.bsky.social for inviting Amanda J Cross to give the Charlotte Jackson Gift Lecture today! A great opportunity to share our @cancerresearchuk.org funded work on #BowelCancer early detection & how our findings are influencing policy & patient care

4 years ago... #timeflies

A huge congratulations to our brilliant @imperialsandc.bsky.social
@cancerresearchuk.org #PhD - Dr Emma Robbins! - on successfully passing her #viva today!

An incredible achievement and well-deserved recognition of her hard work and dedication. We are so proud to celebrate with her!

😀👏🥳

Post doc Dr Rhea Harewood sharing #BowelCancerAwareness at a community outreach event with the Harrow THCOGIC church.

The group discussed how #BowelCancer is caused, how we can screen to find it earlier and how to improve public involvement in bowel cancer research

#EDI #CancerResearch

Improving involvement of EDI groups in #BowelCancer research is essential to make medical research more equitable

Rhea Harewood & Kelly Gleason collaborated with the Asian Women Cancer Group to hear their opinions on Rhea's future bowel #CancerResearch plans!

#BowelCancerAwareness

It's #BowelCancerAwareness Month

Spotlight on our @nihr.bsky.social post-doc Dr Rhea Harewood's work to improve involvement & participation of minority ethnic groups in #BowelCancer research

This work is funded by the @imperialsandc.bsky.social and @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social EDI seed funds!

8/8
Impact

Effective allocation of surveillance colonoscopies is crucial to protect higher-risk pts from CRC while minimising invasive procedures for low-risk pts.

Our unique data will inform recommendations for ongoing surveillance in future post-polypectomy surveillance guidelines.

7/8
Conclusion

Pts with high-risk findings at both baseline & SC1 needed a second surveillance colonoscopy, whereas those with low-risk findings at SC1 did not, regardless of their baseline findings.

We couldn't draw conclusions for the LR-HR group due to limited CRC cases.

6/8
Findings:

Compared to the general population, CRC incidence after SC1 was:
▪️ ~0.5 times lower in the LR-LR group
▪️ - Non-significantly different in the HR-LR or LR-HR groups, although the 95%CI for the LR-HR group was wide due to few CRC cases
▪️ - ~3 times higher in the HR-HR group

5/8
Methods

We examined CRC incidence after SC1. Median follow-up was 8 years. CRC incidence in each group was then compared with that in the general population.

4/8
Methods

10,508 pts were split into 4 groups defined by their findings at baseline & at SC1
- ‘Low-risk, low-risk’ (LR-LR)
- ‘High-risk, low-risk’ (HR-LR)
- ‘Low-risk, high-risk’ (LR-HR)
- ‘High-risk, high-risk’ (HR-HR)

3/8
Background

Pts at ⬆️ risk of CRC after polyp removal are recommended to have post-polypectomy surveillance to protect against future CRC.

However, there are limited data to support recommendations for ongoing surveillance beyond SC1.

2/8
What
A retrospective, cohort analysis of pts who underwent baseline colonoscopy with polyp removal & had ≥1 check-up colonoscopies (‘post-polypectomy surveillance’).

Authors: E Robbins, K Wooldrage, M Rutter, A Veitch & A J Cross
Funding: @cancerresearchuk.org @nihr.bsky.social

1/8
Which patients under surveillance for colorectal cancer (CRC) after polyp removal need to continue having surveillance beyond the 1st surveillance colonoscopy (SC1)?

Our new analysis in Gut @BMJ.com examines which pt groups need ongoing surveillance.

gut.bmj.com/cgi/rapidpdf...

At the CSPRG, we're aiming to reduce the number of people being diagnosed & dying from #ColorectalCancer

Watch this space for future work on colorectal cancer risk and diet & lifestyle, how best to screen for CRC, and how to protect those at high risk from this cancer

#CSPRGWeekOfResearch