With one in two of us receiving a cancer diagnosis at some point during our lives, it has never been more important to improve the outcomes for people affected by cancer.  

To highlight the impactful work of cancer researchers at The University of Manchester, have launched a new podcast: “One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast”.

With seven episodes releasing over the next seven weeks, it will dive into the discoveries that are shaping the cancer research landscape and how these contributions are changing lives and global understanding of the disease for the benefit of people across the world.

This collection of episodes explores our expertise in cancer early detection, highlighting the breadth of research within our Manchester ecosystem in cancer prevention, detection and diagnosis. Across the seven episodes we speak with academics from across our research community, highlighting a selection of projects in collaboration with engineering, bioinformatics, health economics, policy and health inequalities and providing critical insights that are improving earlier detection methods, at both a patient or laboratory level.

The first episode – Health inequalities: does going to communities directly improve screening uptake? Spotlights the work of Professors Emma Crosbie and Phil Crosbie. Focusing on their new joint project that marries their respective expertise in lung and gynaecological cancers. Phil and Emma discuss some of the challenges around lung and cervical cancer screening, how community engagement can improve screening uptake in socio-economically deprived areas and how research from The University of Manchester has led to a national revolution in delivering lung screening.

In the UK, age-standardised cancer incidence rate is the highest for people living in the most deprived areas with lung cancer seeing incidence rate almost triple for people living in the most deprived areas when compared with the least deprived areas.

Disadvantaged communities at the same time see the lowest take up of screening, meaning those most at risk of cancer, are least likely to have it detected at an early, treatable stage. The work highlighted by Philip and Emma in this first podcast, tell us how they are trying to change this.

Professor Robert Bristow, University of Manchester Professor of Cancer Studies and Director of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre said: “I’m excited to see our new podcast One in Two: a Manchester Cancer Research Podcast launch, enabling us to share our Manchester stories of discoveries and innovations that are contributing to increasing global survivorship.

“The series gives our researchers a new platform to tell their stories in their own words, about breakthrough moments and discoveries as well as the difficult questions they’re having to ask and answer on their research journeys. We get to meet the incredible people behind the research and outside the lab, letting us connect with them and their work like never before.”

Episode 2 (launching on Monday 3 October) will focus on the question, Breast Cancer: Should all women be screened equally?  Spotlighting the work of Professor Gareth Evans as he talks about the risk factors that affect breast cancer screening.

A new episode will then be launched each Monday with topics including: health economics, alternative screening for people with a cervix, modelling cancer outside of the body, and using nanoparticles for detecting biomarkers.

The series has been produced in partnership with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC).

• You can stream the first episode here  
• Episode one is also available now on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube
  

Cancer is one of the University’s five research beacons. The research beacons are examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet.

• You can read more about our work here.