Emma Crosbie wins Making a Difference Award for outstanding research linking Lynch syndrome to womb and bowel cancer

Emma Crosbie, a researcher at the University, recently won our Social Responsibility 2021 Making a Difference Awards for outstanding benefit to society through research. The award was given for the incredible work Emma and her Team Womb have undertaken to facilitate earlier detection of womb and bowel cancer, through their pioneering study into the links with Lynch syndrome.

Lynch syndrome is a genetic condition that can significantly increase the risk of developing cancer, particularly womb and bowel. Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK and particularly aggressive as detection generally happens at an advanced stage – earlier detection is needed to increase survival rates.

Alongside this, evidence has shown that for women with Lynch syndrome, developing womb cancer is an early indicator of their susceptibility to bowel cancer.

The award-winning team led the first study of its kind in the UK that tested women diagnosed with womb cancer for Lynch syndrome, confirming the link between the two. The findings led the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to recommend the universal testing of all womb cancer patients for Lynch syndrome in new guidance released in October 2020.

Team Womb’s work has produced an outstanding benefit to society. By helping to identify those who are Lynch positive, patients and their families can undergo regular early detection testing for bowel and other cancers, helping increase their chance of survival.

Emma Crosbie spoke of receiving the Making a Difference Award: “I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of Team Womb. It recognises our hard work and determination to ensure equity of access to Lynch syndrome testing for all women diagnosed with womb cancer. In this way, women can protect themselves and members of their family from future cancers by engaging in bowel cancer screening and aspirin chemoprevention. Our research showed who and how to test for Lynch syndrome, that women want to be tested to protect their family, and that it is cost-effective for the NHS to test everyone. We hope this will improve the quality of care womb cancer patients receive in the future.”

Find out more

• Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health story: Driving changes in womb cancer detection
• Professor Emma Crosbie’s published research papers
• Policy@Manchester’s website: Lynch syndrome activity