Professor Sarah C Darby and NDPH colleagues Gurdeep Mannu, Zhe Wang and Yaochen Wang are pictured at the 2015 BMJ Awards ceremony recently, where they represented one of the teams shortlisted as finalists for the UK research paper of the year. The team was up against stiff competition for the coveted title which recognises an original piece of UK research that has the potential to contribute significantly to improving health and healthcare. The work, published in The Lancet, demonstrated the significant benefits of radiotherapy in reducing 10-year recurrence and 20-year breast cancer mortality in women with 1-3 positive lymph nodes. “Detailed analysis of the results of radiotherapy, by following patients over many years, continues to shape and improve the treatment of breast cancer and ensures women get the best treatment possible,” said Professor Darby. The work was funded by Cancer Research UK, MRC and BHF.
See: Early Breast Cancer Triallists’ Collaborative Group, effect of radiotherapy after mastectomy and axillary surgery on 10-year recurrence and 20-year breast cancer mortality: meta analysis of individual patient data for 8,135 women in 22 randomised trials
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960488-8/abstract
The Paper of the Year Award went to research into discrepancies in autologous bone marrow stem cell trials, led by Alexandra N Nowbar and the Damascene team.