Annex 2: Summary of the Committee's Visit
to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research,
Sutton
17th May 2000
THE ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL AND THE INSTITUTE
OF CANCER RESEARCH
The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) was founded
in 1901 to initiate, encourage, support and carry out research
into the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer and of allied
diseases. ICR research facilities are located alongside the Royal
Marsden Hospital (RMH) at two sites; the Chester Beatty Laboratories
in Chelsea, London and in Sutton, Surrey. ICR is an Associate
Institution of the University of London and provides undergraduate
and postgraduate training and education in cancer and palliative
care studies. It has around 500 staff, and over 350 students.
The ICR receives funding from CRC, MRC, The Wellcome Trust, LRF,
and several other medical charities and sponsorship from several
industrial partners. The RMH was founded in 1851. It was the first
hospital in the world to be dedicated wholly to the study and
treatment of cancer. In 1948 it became part of the NHS. It works
closely with the ICR.
Meetings with Dr Peter Rigby, Chief Executive Officer
of the ICR, Miss Cally Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of the
RMH, Professor Mike Stratton, Chairman of the ICR Section of Cancer
Genetics, Professor Paul Workman, Director of the ICR CRC Centre
for Cancer Therapeutics, Professor Martin Leach, Director of the
CRC Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research Group, Professor Alan
Horwich, Director of Clinical Research and Development, Professor
Ian Smith, Medical Director at the RMH, Dr Martin Gore, RMH Divisional
Medical Director for Rare Cancers, Professor Julian Peto, Head
of ICR Epidemiology Section, Dr Samar Kulkarni, Senior Registrar
in the RMH Leukemia Unit.
Topics discussed:
The importance of development and training of support
staff; the cost of anti-cancer drugs; securing funding for research
and the allocation of Culyer funding; the ownership and management
of intellectual property rights; the balance between the provision
of services and research; the importance of genetics in future
cancer developments and the key rôle of the HGP; the Cancer
Genome Project; funding for genomics; the shortage of bioinformatics
resources; the need for a wide range of compounds for researchers
to work upon as potential new cancer drugs; the use of MRI and
PET imaging; development and use of 3D-CRT and IMRT; data-handling
facilities; clinical trial funding and slow MRC approval processes;
the dominance of industry in funding clinical trials; the trials
for taxanes; the UKCCCR as a possible funding body for trials;
obtaining ethical approval for clinical trials; the low NHS use
of new cancer drugs; the advantages and disadvantages of partnerships
with industry; the new Data Protection Act; cancer registration.
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