One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast

Season Two - Lung Cancer: From basic biology to transformative therapies

Home Podcast Season Two now available – One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast

This is One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast brought to you by the University of Manchester and the Manchester Cancer Research Centre. With one and two of us receiving a cancer diagnosis at some point in our lifetime, it has never been more important for our research to improve the outcomes for people affected by cancer.

This series focuses on ‘Lung Cancer: From basic biology to transformative therapies’.

Throughout this series, our host, Sally Best will be speaking with Manchester Cancer researchers about their innovations, discoveries and projects that are changing the landscape of lung cancer detection and treatment.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and causes 35,000 deaths in the UK each year alone. Here in Manchester, we have one of the worst Lung Cancer mortality rates in England, at approximately double the national average. Five-year survival from the disease is low at 15% with lung cancer being the highest economic burden of all cancers. Survival has not increased in line with other cancers, leading Cancer Research UK to identify It as one of four cancers of unmet need.

There are 47,000 new lung cancer cases in the UK every year with 15% of those diagnosed having never smoked. These episodes explore lung cancer types from diagnosis through to treatment, carrying the message that ‘You only need lungs to get lung cancer.’

Sally Best, One in Two Podcast Producer and Host

“Recording this second season of One in Two has been truly phenomenal. With lung cancer being the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and having such high instances here in Manchester, it was important for me to communicate the research that is being done to treat this deadly disease. I have been enamoured by the progressions that are being made and it has been great to communicate the message that ‘you only need lungs to get lung cancer’.”

Episode one - The basic biology of lung cancer with Dr Colin Lindsay: Exploring oncogenic drivers such as the KRAS mutation

In this episode, we speak to Dr Colin Lindsay, Clinical Senior Lecturer at The Christie and The University of Manchester about the basic biology of lung cancer, focusing on: • The high incidence of lung cancer here in Manchester • The differences between non-small cell and small-cell lung cancer • Oncogenic drivers in lung cancer such as the KRAS mutation • His work on the drug sotorasib which targets KRAS mutant cancer and has now been approved by the FDA and for use in the UK by NICE

Dr Colin Lindsay

Dr Colin Lindsay is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology, also working at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust to divide his time 50/50 between research and the clinic. Colin trained at the CRUK Beatson Institute and Cancer Centre in Glasgow, where he completed a PhD under Owen Sansom studying genetically modified mouse models of RAS- and RAF-driven melanoma. Following that he changed focus to lung cancer translation through involvement with the CRUK Stratified Medicine Programme, as well as a two-year ESMO translational fellowship with Benjamin Besse and Jean-Charles Soria at the Gustave Roussy Institute in Villejuif, France. His main research interests are 1) the implementation of effective treatment strategies for cancers driven by RAS mutation, and 2) successful and efficient translation of genomic results for optimal clinical gain.

Episode 2 - Cancer biomarkers with Professor Caroline Dive: How liquid biopsies could pave the way for lung cancer detection and treatment

In this episode, we speak to Professor Caroline Dive, Professor of Cancer Pharmacology at The University of Manchester, Interim Director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and Director of the CRUK Cancer Biomarker Centre, about cancer biomarkers in lung cancer, focussing on: • Establishing a Cancer Biomarker Centre in Manchester • Developing liquid biopsies such as circulating tumour cells (CTCs), circulating free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) • The future of integrating novel biomarkers into the clinic

Professor Caroline Dive

Upon completing her PhD studies in Cambridge, Professor Caroline Dive moved to Aston University’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Birmingham where she established her own group studying mechanisms of drug-induced tumour cell death, before moving to The University of Manchester to continue this research. Caroline was awarded a Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine Research Fellowship before joining the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute (CRUK MI) in 2003.

Currently, she is Interim Director of the Institute and Director of its Cancer Biomarker Centre, with research spanning tumour biology, biomarker discovery and preclinical pharmacology alongside regulated laboratories for biomarker assay validation and qualification within clinical trials to Good Clinical Practice standards supporting clinical decision-making.

Caroline was awarded the Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier International Prize in 2012 for her Biomarker Research, the AstraZeneca Prize for Women in Pharmacology in 2016 and was presented with the 2019 Heine H. Hansen Lectureship Award by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). In 2018, Caroline was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to cancer research. Most recently, she became an elected member of EMBO (2020), received the inaugural Johann Anton Merck Award in recognition for exceptional contributions to the field of preclinical oncology (2020) and was the recipient of the Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Distinguished Service Award by IASLC (2021). Caroline was President of the European Association for Cancer Research from2020 – 2022.

Episode 3 - Clinical trials with Professor Corinne Faivre-Finn: How RAPID RT could improve survival rates for lung cancer patients

In this episode, we speak to Corinne Faivre-Finn, a Professor of Thoracic Radiation Oncology about lung cancer clinical trials, focussing on: • Radiotherapy: what it is and how it’s used to treat lung cancers • Clinical trials: what are they, who are they for and how are they set up • The RAPID-RT clinical trial that launched at The Christie in early 2023, and how it could improve survival rates for lung cancer patients • The involvement of AI and rapid learning in this trial, and the benefits this has for data collection • Integrating patient voices into the trial

Professor Corinne Faivre-Finn

Corinne Faivre-Finn, FRCR, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at the Division of Molecular and Cancer Sciences (University of Manchester) and Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist (The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester) with a specialist interest in lung cancer. Prof Faivre-Finn trained in Paris until 1998 and accepted a consultant post at The Christie in 2001. She has numerous professional roles including: Radiotherapy Research Lead and Radiotherapy Big Data Lead for Manchester Cancer Research Centre, Radiotherapy Research Lead for the CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and Early NSCLC Chair of EORTC Lung Group. She is the Co-lead of the Christie/Manchester Cancer Research Centre Patient Reported Outcome Group.

Episode 4 - Lung Cancer in never smokers with Dr Fabio Gomes: The ALK positive mutation in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

In this episode, we speak to Dr Fabio Gomes, a Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, about lung cancer in never smokers, focusing on: • The commonality of lung cancer in never smokers • Why never smokers are susceptible to lung cancer, and why you only need lungs to get lung cancer • ALK positive mutations in non-small cell lung cancer • His research project looking at The UK ALK project • The ALK Education programme and educating healthcare professionals through data and case studies

Dr Fabio Gomes

Dr Fabio Gomes is a Consultant Medical Oncologist who specialises in the care of patients with lung cancer, focussing specifically on the ALK positive mutation in Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). He also has a special interest in the care of senior adults with cancer and is the Clinical Director of the multidisciplinary senior adult oncology service launched at The Christie in 2022. Fabio also works with the digital services where he directs the clinical outcomes unit. This unit focuses on the use of clinical data generated as part of the daily practice across the hospital to identify the outcomes of groups of patients and promote improvements. Dr Gomes is an elected board member of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). He is also a Clinical Research Training Fellow alum at The University of Manchester.

Episode 5 - Never-smoking lung cancer with Professor Matt Evison and patient Sally Hayton: Overcoming barriers to early detection in symptomatic lung cancer patients

In this episode, we speak to Professor Matt Evison, Professor of Thoracic oncology, and never-smoker ALK+ lung cancer patient, Sally Hayton about: • Never-smoker lung cancer symptoms, demographics, and occurrence • Sally’s experience of receiving her lung cancer diagnosis and the barriers she faced in accessing treatment • Overcoming barriers to early detection in symptomatic lung cancer patients • The Manchester self-referral chest x-ray service and how it is helping in the diagnosis of symptomatic lung cancer patients

Manchester Cancer Research Centre | Season Two now available – One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast

Professor Matt Evison

Professor Matthew Evison MD MRCP (Respiratory Medicine) MBChB qualified from Manchester University Medical School in 2004. He undertook specialist training in Respiratory Medicine in 2008-2014 including a two-year fellowship in Thoracic Oncology at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, completing an MD degree in lung cancer diagnostics. He was appointed as a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine (Thoracic Oncology) at Wythenshawe Hospital in 2014. He was clinical Director for Lung Cancer for Greater Manchester Cancer from 2017-2023 and Appointed as Associate Medical Director for the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance in 2023. Matt is the Clinical Lead for the Greater Manchester regional tobacco control programme ‘Making Smoking History’. He is a member of the British Thoracic Society Lung Cancer & Mesothelioma Specialist Advisory Group (SAG) & Member of the British Thoracic Oncology Group Steering Committee. He is also MASHC Honorary Clinical Chair, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, The University of Manchester.

Sally Hayton

Patient Sally Hayton lives with Frank her partner. She has lived most of her life in Greater Manchester.

Sally is a never smoker and was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2013 and biomarker testing showed an ALK mutation. She is now being treated at The Christie Hospital.

She has always worked in the public sector. After leaving school she trained and worked as an occupational therapist (OT). She then had a career change and worked within NHS Personnel for several years before realising that she wanted to return to her OT career. She has worked within both the NHS and social care, both of which she enjoyed.

She is a member of Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance Patient Voices’ and believes it is very important to raise awareness of never smoker lung cancer so that people are diagnosed at earlier stages and have access to the best treatment.