Revolutionising cancer treatment Michael Kelly, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon with the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute, tells Trinity Today why the new institute is vital to addressing Ireland’s cancer rate and how the John Joly Leadership Award is helping him dedicate protected time to research ‘Historically, in Ireland, hospital, the new institute we have the tendency unites Trinity education to compartmentalise and research with the medicine. A patient clinical and patient care with colorectal cancer of St James’s to pioneer might be referred to the new ways to prevent, gastroenterology unit and detect, and treat cancer. then to medical oncology, Currently, in its first radiation oncology, and phase of scaling activity surgery. These are all in patient care, research, separate departments. Our aim with the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute, following best international Left to right, Dr Nina Orfali, Consultant Haematologist and Joly Cancer Leadership Programme awardee; Professor Maeve Lowery, Academic Director of TSJCI; Professor John Kennedy, Medical Director of TSJCI and Mr Michael Kelly, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and Joly Cancer clinical trials, and education, TSJCI has set a goal to build a cutting- edge facility on St James’s practice, is to group these Leadership Programme awardee. Hospital campus. departments into one tumour stream.’ Mr Kelly, who graduated BA MB BCh BAO from Trinity Michael Kelly, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon with in 2010, specialises in surgery for advanced colorectal the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute (TSJCI) and the cancers. Also known as bowel cancer, colorectal winner of an inaugural John Joly Leadership Award cancer is among the top five most prevalent cancers for academic cancer clinicians, is passionate about in Ireland and, according to National Cancer Strategy the importance of TSJCI for cancer care and research Data, will increase by 100% over the next 35 years: ‘A in Ireland: third of colorectal cancers are advanced and among ‘Comprehensive Cancer Centres that integrate research, clinical care, and education deliver the best care for patients. I observed this when working at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia these about 4% to 6% are recurrent cancers. Although diagnoses and treatments are improving all the time, these advanced tumours will also proportionally increase.’ which modelled itself on North American Cancer Why is colorectal cancer increasing, not just in Ireland Centres, where the focus is developing research from but globally? ‘Our diagnostic capability is improving, the benchtop and applying that to clinical practice. that’s part of it, and also colorectal cancer is related to Bringing this to Ireland is vital because our nation has sedentary living, high fat/ processed diets, smoking, one of the highest incidences of cancer in the world. and excess alcohol. As long as these remain part of Irish The statistics (from the WHO) are stark: one in six lifestyles, these cancers will increase.’ people will die from cancer.’ As a Trinity undergraduate, Mr Kelly already knew that This makes a Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) he wanted to focus on surgery. While pursuing a PhD integrating research, clinical care, and education an under the supervision of Professor Des Winter, Clinical absolute priority for Ireland. France has nine CCCs Professor of Surgery at UCD, they co-developed an certified by the Organisation of European Cancer international consortium, called PelvEx Collaborative, Institutes (OECI), and Italy has ten; Norway and Finland, examining surgical and survival outcomes following with similar population sizes to Ireland, have one each. complex surgery for advanced pelvic cancers: ‘This Ireland’s National Cancer Strategy has set an objective taught me the importance of collaborative research. to develop at least one CCC. We started PelvEx in 2014 with a handful of countries Having achieved preliminary OECI accreditation in 2020, TSJCI is now applying to become a CCC. Led by Ireland’s leading university and its largest public and we’ve now grown to more than 160 centres across six continents and 46 countries. We aim to get real-world data concerning rare tumours that grow
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