The first Bowel Cancer UK/Royal College of Surgeons of England Colorectal Research Chair

Professor David Jayne was the first surgical research Chair to be appointed as part of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS Eng) Surgical Trials Initiative. This post supported him to drive forward surgical clinical trial research for bowel cancer, increasing the number of trials and helping to make sure more patients are able to take part.

The challenge

Surgery is the most common treatment for bowel cancer and central to curing the disease yet investment in surgical research is low. Very few clinical trials in the UK are focused on surgery. Investing in surgical research is crucial to develop more effective and personalised life-saving treatments, standardise surgery and care for patients regardless of where they live and minimise side-effects for everyone who has an operation.

What is a research chair?

A research chair is a someone who leads in their field, with a strong track record of delivering and coordinating research. They’re given funding to allow them to dedicate more time towards research.

This means they can build a bigger research team, develop a larger programme of research, attend conferences and publish papers. They’re also able to build partnerships within the research community and provide training and support to the next generation of researchers.

Funding research posts, such as surgical chairs, works towards our goal of removing barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Helping with diagnosing bowel cancer at the earliest possible stage and getting the right treatment and care to every patient.

Expanding surgical research

Professor David Jayne is the Clinical Director at the Leeds RCS Surgical Trials Centre. He has built up a large portfolio of clinical studies to improve outcomes for patients with bowel cancer, particularly by reducing the risk of surgical complications.

Building bowel cancer research capacity

Through his roles as Deputy Academic Training Director and PhD supervisor, Professor Jayne has supported over 40 surgical researchers in their careers. Ensuring the next generation of surgeons are engaged with research, as well as continuing to improve treatment. He’s also a mentor for the RCS Eng Surgical Trials Network and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Academy. These roles let him provide guidance and share his knowledge and experience with new talent in the wider surgical research field.

Through partnerships with industry and with other funders, Professor Jayne has been able to use his time as chair to receive over £12 million of additional funding for his bowel cancer research. These industry partners are key for the development of new surgical technologies, which have potential to be life-saving but are expensive to first create.

Bowel cancer clinical trials

Clinical trials that Professor Jayne leads or has a key role in include:

• Whether a drug used to control bleeding (such as nosebleeds or heavy periods) can reduce the risk of anastomotic leaks, a serious complication of bowel surgery
• Using sound waves to treat bowel liver metastases, with quicker recovery than removing part of the liver
• Using fluorescent light, rather than standard white light, to check the blood supply to the bowel and prevent anastomotic leaks

New surgical technology

In addition to his clinical trials work, Professor Jayne is part of the development of many new technologies for bowel cancer procedures that are in pre-clinical stages, including:

• A robotic colonoscopy system that uses magnets to gently steer the colonoscope around the bowel, reducing pain and discomfort
• Steerable lasers to precisely target and treat bowel growths via colonoscopy
• Fluorescence-guided surgery to help identify cancerous bowel tissue and lymph nodes during surgery

What difference will this project make?

During his time as surgical research chair, Professor Jayne has worked on a large amount of clinical and pre-clinical research. He has contributed to 66 published research papers sharing the results with the wider surgical community.

Patients are already benefitting from taking part in this research and having access to novel treatments. This will only increase as more studies progress through the pipeline from small early-phase trials, to large later-phase trials and on to standard care.

The collaborations and additional funding that this post has given Professor Jayne means that he can continue to explore new and exciting ideas to improve the experience and outcomes of surgery for bowel cancer.

His work as a supervisor and mentor is continuing to nurture new surgeons to begin their own research careers, strengthening the UK’s surgical research capacity for the future.

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“It has been an honour to be in receipt of Bowel Cancer UK funding and to represent the charity.” - Professor David Jayne