One of our main aims is to raise funds for research into womb cancer.
Over recent years, there have been rising numbers of womb cancer diagnoses. Currently, womb cancer research is funded by bodies such as Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research. Grants for womb cancer research are in competition with other cancer types, such as breast, cervix and ovary. Consequently, competition is fierce, resulting in less womb cancer research being funded Our long-term vision at Peaches Womb Cancer Trust is to become funders of womb cancer research ourselves. Increasing the availability of grants and funding specifically for womb cancer research is vitally important to improve survival, quality of life and care for those suffering from womb cancer.
Research projects require large sums of money to fund, often hundreds of thousands of pounds. As a small and new charity, we do not currently have the resources to fund large scale research, however we are building our charity so that we will be able to do this in the future. In the interim, we are focusing on promoting womb cancer research undertaken throughout the UK and supporting early career researchers (such as medical students, doctors undertaking higher research degrees and basic scientists who are completing their PhD or a post-doctoral fellowship). We also offer bursaries to researchers presenting their work at national and international conferences.
Bursary applications
We welcome bursary applications at any time from medical students, trainees (pre-CCT) and scientists (fewer than three years post PhD) who have been accepted to present their work at national and international conferences. Preference will be given to applicants whose research pertains to prevention, screening, early detection or treatment of endometrial cancer. To apply, please send an abstract or short lay summary of your research (max 300 words) and a copy of your CV to [email protected].
Successful applicants will have their summaries published on the Peaches Womb Cancer Trust website and also on our social media channels.
Previous recipients of Peaches bursaries
Dr Mark Brincat
Mark’s research, titled “Mismatch repair protein expression defects in endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma” was presented at the RCOG Annual Academic Meeting in February 2021.
This work, undertaken during Mark’s Master of Science in Oncology degree at Newcastle University, looked for mismatch repair defects (gene changes) in womb cancers. Finding defective expression of mismatch repair proteins impacts on what type of treatment women can have and also has significant consequences for the patient’s children and relatives, as these tumour gene changes may represent a familial genetic susceptibility to gynaecological cancer (Lynch syndrome). This research was the driving force behind several clinical improvement projects that benefit both womb cancer patients and their loved ones.
Miss Olivia Jones
Olivia’s research, titled “The Womb Cancer Awareness Measure – Development of a Tool to Assess Public Awareness” was presented at the International Gynaecologic Cancer Society Global Meeting in Rome in August 2021. This work gathered data from more than 800 participants and showed that the British population generally have low awareness of womb cancer symptoms and cannot distinguish what increases their womb cancer risk. Olivia hopes that the results of this study will help to improve awareness of this common, yet largely overlooked cancer, amongst all those at risk.
Miss Olivia Aurangzeb
Olivia’s work, titled “The Effect of Physical Activity on Endometrial Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review” was presented at the RCOG Annual Academic Meeting in February 2022. Olivia conducted this research using data from the current literature as well as the UK Biobank during an Applied Personal Excellence Pathway (APEP) in the third year of her medical degree.
Dr Kelechi Njoku
Kelchi’s work, titled “Pre-treatment inflammatory parameters predict survival from endometrial cancer: a prospective database analysis” was presented at the RCOG Annual Academic Meeting in February 2022. This research found that C-Reactive Protein (a common blood test that is a marker of inflammation) may be useful as a simple, low-cost prognostic test to help guide treatments and follow- up programs, to create a more personalised approach to endometrial cancer care.
Research carried out by the Peaches Trustees
Separate to their Peaches’ work, many of the founding Trustees of Peaches Womb Cancer Trust are also active cancer researchers within the research group led by Professor Emma Crosbie.
Their research focuses its efforts on the prevention, screening, early detection and treatment of womb cancer. This research group also supports the career development of budding gynaecological oncology cancer surgeons and clinical researchers. The research team has several ongoing studies looking into the use of non-invasive tests for womb cancer detection, with the vision that one day these could be used within GP surgeries and could reduce the number of women that need to undergo invasive investigations.
The team are developing womb cancer risk prediction tools that aim to identify those at higher risk of womb cancer, who might benefit from different prevention strategies. Another area of research is looking into hormonal treatments for those with early-stage cancer or pre-cancer, to enable women of reproductive age to keep their wombs and have children in the future. The team is also evaluating the use of calorie restriction and weight loss strategies for the risk reduction of womb cancer. As a direct result of the extensive research undertaken by Prof. Crosbie and her team, changes in national guidelines were made with regards to screening for Lynch syndrome. Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition that increases the risk of developing womb and bowel cancer. Screening for this condition in women diagnosed with womb cancer is now available within the NHS due to research published by this team. We know this will have a huge impact on the future health of these patients and the health of their families.
About Us
