NHS Grampian breast cancer research team win prestigious national award

NHS Grampian’s breast cancer research team is to receive the National Institute for Health Research’s CREST Award. The accolade recognises the surgical team that have made the greatest contribution to clinical trials research across the UK during the last year.

The multi-disciplinary breast team based at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was chosen by the NHIR award judges for excellence in the recruitment of surgical patients to cancer trials. They will be presented with their award later this month. The award committee were particularly impressed with not only how many patients the ARI breast team recruited, but also the diversity of studies and their support for next generation researchers.

The team is made up of surgeons, clinical and medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and biorepository staff, breast care, advanced oncology and clinical research nurses as well as research administrative staff. Two of the breast surgeons within the team have recently completed NHS Research Scotland Fellowships.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Miss Beatrix Elsberger, consultant breast surgeon, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to receive this award, recognising the hard work and dedication of the entire team here at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

“To achieve what we have has been a real collaborative effort. Our clinicians, nursing and admin staff have worked together with patients and members of the public. We hold regular educational meetings and involve colleagues in supporting disciplines to ensure every member of our breast team can feel engaged and supported. We also hold frequent public engagement activities to raise the profile of clinical trials within NHS Grampian.

“We are very grateful to all our breast cancer patients, who are generally incredibly enthusiastic about supporting and taking part in vital research. This helps us to gather the best evidence for delivering even better cancer treatments as time goes on.”

The team has also worked extremely hard to increase the number of patients who are able to take part in clinical trials and their approach has been adopted by other centres. Drawing on the diverse knowledge and experience of the team as well as working closely with colleagues from universities has been key to linking basic science and clinical application.

Beatrix added: “We created a platform for conducting local research and feasibility studies. This genuinely collaborative environment, where team members meet with research staff from across the health board to discuss active trials, identify pitfalls and come up with solutions, has helped build a nurturing environment. Trainees are supported to become and stay research active – and all this contributes to an excellent place to carry out research.”

The team were the highest recruiter for the recently closed UK-wide PRIMETIME trial, and are also now the second highest recruiting site for the international breast surgical trial called ATNEC.

Nick Fluck, NHS Grampian’s clinical director, added: “We are very lucky here in Grampian to have UK-leading research making a difference to people’s lives. The breast team’s achievement is testament to their hard work and dedication, and a great example of the high-quality clinical research environment for cancer trials that exists here.”

More information about NHS Research Scotland is available at: NRS Cancer