10.30AM WEDNESDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2009: MEDICS TO LAUNCH NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR NEW CANCER TREATMENT

• Tuesday, 03 November 2009

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PRESS INVITATION & ADVISORY

MEDICS TO LAUNCH NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR NEW CANCER TREATMENT – 10.30AM WEDNESDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2009

Laser targets tumours in life saving alternative to chemo or radiotherapy and conventional surgery

Future of 'personalised' cancer treatment

PRESS LAUNCH & MINI-SYMPOSIUM
10.30 AM WEDNESDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2009
ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE
1 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE

* SKIN CANCER TREATMENTS
* TARGETING BRAIN TUMOURS
* HEAD & NECK CANCERS
* CHEST CANCER APPLICATIONS
* POTENTIAL IN PROSTATE CANCER
* FIGHTING 'SUPER-BUGS'

Cancer specialists working at some of the UK's leading medical treatment and research centres are launching a national campaign on Wednesday (4 November) at the Royal Society of Medicine in London to get the life-saving laser based treatment they have pioneered over the last 20 years more widely used as a mainstream alternative to chemo or radiotherapy and conventional surgery.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) uses a combination of non-thermal lasers with special photo-sensitive dyes for the targeted treatment of cancer and other life threatening conditions without the need for invasive surgery or enduring the unpleasant side effects of strong radiation and chemical therapies.

To launch the initiative NHS, university and independent experts will present a series of short briefings on the status and future potential of PDT in the UK in their own areas of speciality at a press launch and mini-symposium to be held at the Royal Society of Medicine on Wednesday 4th November 2009 between 10.30am and 2.00pm.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has approved a number of PDT treatments in recent years yet not all PCTs are financing or promoting its availability despite excellent outcomes in terms of cure and quality of life.

"PDT offers a real 'ray of hope' for a large number of cancer patients and should have equal status as a treatment alongside chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery," said eminent cardio-thoracic surgeon and laser pioneer Professor Keyvan Moghissi. "Leaders in this field from across the UK decided they needed to form a specialist group to raise the profile of PDT within the NHS and PCTs consistently across the UK and to collaborate to attract funding for future research on a coordinated national basis which will support advances in such areas as personalised drugs (dyes) and techniques that could revolutionise Cancer treatment."

New and exciting research is aimed at optimising PDT by developing better dyes, and also by specific targeting of diseased tissue using agents such as monoclonal antibodies. The ultimate goal of this research will be personalised cancer treatment, where antibodies generated from samples of a patient's own unique tumour are loaded with PDT dyes and subsequently used to treat the patient.

In addition to boosting urgently needed research funding to support these types of exciting new developments in PDT the group wants to raise awareness both within the medical community and the general public so that PDT becomes more mainstream.

This is a particularly timely development as the UK Cancer 'Czar' Professor Mike Richards is currently consulting on the status of PDT and assessing its future role within the NHS.

Not all tumours can be treated by PDT at the moment and in some instances PDT is used in combination with existing therapies.

A full press pack will be released at the launch event on 4th November, but some brief background information and programme of speakers is set out below.

The new group has been established as a registered charity: UK PDT Charitable Trust. The trustees are: (Chair) Prof K Moghissi MD FRCS, (Treasurer) Dr E Allan FRCS FRCR, Dr R W Boyle PhD MRSC, Mr M S Eljamel MD FRCS, Mr C Hopper MD FRCS, Prof H Moseley PhD FIPhys,

ENDS

Press contact: Jonathan Levy - mobile 07813 948385

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a clinical method for selective removal of unwanted tissue, including solid tumours. The procedure involves administration of a non-toxic dye, which is allowed to localise in the tissue to be treated. The dye is activated locally with a high intensity source of visible (non-thermal) light resulting in localised destruction of tissue - only where light and dye are combined.

PDT has major advantages over chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as neither the administered dye nor the light used to activate it, are harmful to the patient, unlike the toxic agents used for chemotherapy and ionising radiation involved in radiotherapy. PDT also has no cumulative toxicity, and can therefore be applied as many times as required to obtain the desired clinical outcome, a factor which is especially important in the case of cancers with a significant rate of recurrence.

PDT is now an established clinical treatment, with many centres in the UK and around the world offering this as a fourth option alongside, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for treatment of solid tumours.

Web sites for more information:

www.ukmedicallasercentre.org
www.york.ac.uk/depts/biol/units/cru/
www.christie.nhs.uk
www.ucl.ac.uk/surgery/nmlc/
British Medical Laser Association: www.bmla.co.uk
www.ukpdtcharity.org.uk

Press Launch and Mini-Symposium Programme

Wednesday 4th November 2009, Royal Society of Medicine, London

10.30 Registration and refreshments

11.00 Welcome

Professor Keyvan Moghissi BSc, MD, FRCS (Ed & Eng), FETCS
Yorkshire Laser Centre - The UK Medical Laser Centre
Chair - UKPDT Charitable Trust

Introduction, aims and objectives of UKPDT Charitable Trust and overview of PDT
Kate Dixon BA Hons
Yorkshire Laser Centre - The UK Medical Laser Centre
Secretary UKPDT Charitable Trust

Presentations:

SKIN CANCER TREATMENTS:
Dr. Ernest Allen MB, ChB (Manchester), FRCS (Ed), FRCR
Dept of Clinical Oncology, Christie Hospital, Manchester

FIGHTING 'SUPER-BUGS' - BACTERIAL & PARASITIC INFECTIONS
Dr. Ross Boyle PhD, MRSC, C. Chem, MASC
Dept of Chemistry, The University of Hull.

TARGETING BRAIN TUMOURS
Mr Sam Eljamel, MBBCh, MD, FRCSEd, FRCSIr, FRCS(SN), FABI
Consultant Neurosurgeon, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee

PDT TREATMENTS FOR HEAD & NECK CANCER
Mr Colin Hopper MD, MBBS, BDS, FRCS (Ed), FDSRCS (Eng)
Dept of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, UCL Eastman Dental Hospital, London and The National Medical Laser Centre, London.

CHEST CANCERS: LUNGS AND TRACHEA, OESOPHAGUS, BREAST AND POTENTIAL IN MESOTHELIOMA
Professor Keyvan Moghissi BSc, MD, FRCS (Ed & Eng), FETCS
Yorkshire Laser Centre - the UK Medical Laser Centre, Goole

PDT POTENTIAL IN PROSTATE CANCER
Professor Norman J Maitland BSc PhD,
Professor of Molecular Biology, Director YCR Cancer Research Unit.

Presentations conclude with a panel Q&A session

13.00 Buffet lunch and opportunity for networking and interviews

14.00 Meeting closes

Issued by The Top Banana Consultancy on behalf of the UKPDT Charitable Trust: Registered Charity No: 1128676.

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