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Scottish study activity continues to seek answers during Bowel Cancer Awareness Month
Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (1-30 April) is encouraging the sharing of experiences and symptoms — with Scotland’s researchers supporting the drive for treatments through diverse trials
More than nine in 10 people survive bowel cancer — the fourth most common type of cancer in the UK — when it is diagnosed at the earliest stage, so education on spotting the signs is vital.
While Bowel Cancer UK is encouraging information sharing through the hashtag #PassItOn and use of its Awareness Month toolkit, NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Cancer Network has been playing its own part with involvement in key clinical trials happening across the country.
This includes the Scotland-led PRIME RT study — supported by AstraZeneca, Cancer Research UK, University of Glasgow, and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde — with initial findings set to be presented at this year’s European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) gathering, taking place in Vienna in May.
The randomised phase two trial, run by researchers in Glasgow, looked at adding immunotherapy drug Durvalumab to intensified radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment in newly diagnosed cases of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) to see if it could shrink the cancer prior to surgery and reduce the risk of it coming back.
The study recruited patients at The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and University Hospital Crosshouse.
Patients across Scotland are also being offered the chance to take part in the UK-based, multi-centre TRACC trial (Tracking mutations in cell free tumour DNA to predict Relapse in eArly Colorectal Cancer), which is looking to evaluate the use of that type of DNA in patients in predicting whether cancer might return.
There is increasing data on the likely value of looking for cell free tumour DNA in the blood of patients after an operation to remove a bowel cancer in guiding chemotherapy treatment decisions for patients with an early-stage diagnosis.
This is considered vital to tailor chemotherapy to the needs of the patient, sparing them from toxicity with the potential for significant cost savings for the NHS.
The TRACC study is open to people with bowel cancer which has not spread to another part of the body and who are due to have surgery or have had surgery.
This week, it was announced that European clinicians and scientists are to receive £5.5m in funding to form a world-leading research team tasked with making personalised medicine a reality for people with bowel cancer.
The CRC-STARS (Colorectal Cancer — Stratification of Therapies through Adaptive Responses) initiative will bring together 40 research international experts to find better treatments for the disease.
The CRC-STARS team will be co-led by Professor Owen Sansom, Director of the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, which is based at the University of Glasgow. The team further includes experts from the University of Glasgow School of Cancer Sciences Professor Crispin Miller, Professor Joanne Edwards and Professor Campbell Roxburgh. They will also analyse data from bowel cancer studies such as the PRIME-RT clinical trial.
The researchers aim to better understand how different bowel cancers respond to current treatments, why certain bowel cancers spread, and whether they can predict which treatments will work for individual patients — in other words, using detailed information about a person’s cancer to help better understand it and then fight it.
NRS Cancer — North clinical lead Professor Les Samuel said: “We fully support Bowel Cancer Awareness Month with its message of ‘raise awareness, provide comfort, inspire support’.
“Fundamentally, the earlier bowel cancer is spotted, the more treatable it’s likely to be.
“Warning signs can include bleeding from your bottom, unexplained weight loss, feeling tired all the time for no obvious reason, or finding a lump in your stomach.
“If you experience these symptoms, then don’t ignore it or feel embarrassed — getting checked out might just save your life.
“Our Network is supporting those efforts by encouraging the recruitment of patients into clinical research such as the PRIME RT and TRACC studies, thereby contributing to improving the quality of bowel cancer care across Scotland. We are seeing increasingly exciting developments.”
For more information, visit the Network pages.
To find active cancer clinical trials visit Be Part of Research and search by condition, drug, or location.
Publication date: 8th April 2025
