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Lawler M, Sullivan R, Abou-Alfa GK, McCloskey K, Keatley D, Feighan J, Dahut W, Mulroe E, Ladner R, Genead M, Lowery M, Gulley JL, Scott CJ, Longley DB, Culhane A, Gallagher WM, Orr N, Chanock SJ, Gopal S. Health diplomacy in action: The cancer legacy of the Good Friday Agreement. J Cancer Policy 2023; 38:100448. [PMID: 37839622 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpo.2023.100448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which led peace in Northern Ireland. As well as its impact on peace and reconciliation, the Good Friday Agreement has also had a lasting positive impact on cancer research and cancer care across the island of Ireland. Pursuant to the Good Friday Agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the respective Departments of Health in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), giving rise to the Ireland - Northern Ireland - National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium, an unparalleled tripartite agreement designed to nurture and develop linkages between cancer researchers, physicians and allied healthcare professionals across Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US, delivering world class research and better care for cancer patients on the island of Ireland and driving research and innovation in the US.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Lawler
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, UK; All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK.
| | - Richard Sullivan
- Institute of Cancer Policy, Global Oncology Group, King's College London, UK
| | - Ghassan K Abou-Alfa
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA; Weill Medical College at Cornell University, New York, NY, USA; Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Karen McCloskey
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | | | | | - William Dahut
- American Cancer Society, 3380 Chastain Meadows Pkwy NW, Suite 200 Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA
| | - Eibhlin Mulroe
- All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK; Cancer Trials Ireland, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Robert Ladner
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, UK; CV6 Therapeutics (NI) Ltd, Belfast, UK
| | - Mohamed Genead
- Aviceda Therapeutics Inc, Cambridge, MA, USA; Aviceda Glycotech Ltd., Belfast, UK
| | - Maeve Lowery
- All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK; Trinity St James Cancer Institute, Ireland
| | - James L Gulley
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christopher J Scott
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, UK; All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK
| | - Daniel B Longley
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, UK; All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK
| | - Aedin Culhane
- All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK; Limerick Digital Cancer Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland
| | - William M Gallagher
- All-Island Cancer Research Institute, UK; UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Nick Orr
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | - Stephen J Chanock
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Satish Gopal
- Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Lawler M, Lewison G, Sullivan R. Recognising the health dividend of peace: cancer and Northern Ireland. Eur J Cancer 2023; 189:112924. [PMID: 37331221 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- M Lawler
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
| | - G Lewison
- Institute of Cancer Policy, Global Oncology Group, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - R Sullivan
- Institute of Cancer Policy, Global Oncology Group, King's College London, London, UK.
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Lewison G, Gavin A, McCallion K, McDermott R, Sullivan R, Lawler M. The 'Good Friday Agreement' and cancer research on the island of Ireland: Evidence for the impact of a tripartite cancer research partnership. Eur J Cancer 2020; 129:15-22. [PMID: 32114365 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2020.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
AIM In 1999, a cooperative tripartite cancer research and training agreement was signed between Ireland (IE), Northern Ireland (NI) and the United States (US) National Cancer Institute, giving rise to the All-Ireland Cancer Consortium (AICC). We wished to consider if AICC increased the amount/impact of cancer research on the island of Ireland and what effect this enhanced research activity had on cancer services and cancer outcomes. METHODS As comparator, we chose the city regions of Copenhagen and Lund & Malmö, whose physical connection was greatly improved following construction of bridges between Denmark and Sweden around the time AICC was established. We analysed cancer research outputs from all four geographical regions in the Web of Science (1988-2017), with a particular focus on citations and journal impact factors. We evaluated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) as an indicator of change in health status. RESULTS Research outputs increased in all four regions, but more in IE/NI than in the Scandinavian cities, while collaboration between IE and NI and both the US and the Rest of Europe increased even more substantially. Citation scores also showed a greater improvement for IE and NI. Journal citation impact factors indicated that IE/NI papers were increasingly being published in more highly cited journals. Research-enabled cancer service provision improved on the island of Ireland, with concomitant increases in cancer survival. CONCLUSION The AICC collaborative agreement delivered significant additionality on the island of Ireland, promoting transnational cooperation, enhancing cancer research activity, and underpinning improved cancer services and better cancer outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant Lewison
- King's College London, Institute of Cancer Policy, Department of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Studies, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK.
| | - Anna Gavin
- Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast UK.
| | - Karen McCallion
- InterTradeIreland, Old Gasworks Business Park, Kilmorey St, Newry BT34 2DE, UK.
| | - Ray McDermott
- Cancer Trials Ireland, Old Finglas Road Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Richard Sullivan
- King's College London, Institute of Cancer Policy, Department of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Studies, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK.
| | - Mark Lawler
- Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, UK.
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Gaffney EF, Riegman PH, Grizzle WE, Watson PH. Factors that drive the increasing use of FFPE tissue in basic and translational cancer research. Biotech Histochem 2018; 93:373-386. [PMID: 30113239 DOI: 10.1080/10520295.2018.1446101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The decision to use 10% neutral buffered formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) archival pathology material may be dictated by the cancer research question or analytical technique, or may be governed by national ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI), biobank, and sample availability and access policy. Biobanked samples of common tumors are likely to be available, but not all samples will be annotated with treatment and outcomes data and this may limit their application. Tumors that are rare or very small exist mostly in FFPE pathology archives. Pathology departments worldwide contain millions of FFPE archival samples, but there are challenges to availability. Pathology departments lack resources for retrieving materials for research or for having pathologists select precise areas in paraffin blocks, a critical quality control step. When samples must be sourced from several pathology departments, different fixation and tissue processing approaches create variability in quality. Researchers must decide what sample quality and quality tolerance fit their specific purpose and whether sample enrichment is required. Recent publications report variable success with techniques modified to examine all common species of molecular targets in FFPE samples. Rigorous quality management may be particularly important in sample preparation for next generation sequencing and for optimizing the quality of extracted proteins for proteomics studies. Unpredictable failures, including unpublished ones, likely are related to pre-analytical factors, unstable molecular targets, biological and clinical sampling factors associated with specific tissue types or suboptimal quality management of pathology archives. Reproducible results depend on adherence to pre-analytical phase standards for molecular in vitro diagnostic analyses for DNA, RNA and in particular, extracted proteins. With continuing adaptations of techniques for application to FFPE, the potential to acquire much larger numbers of FFPE samples and the greater convenience of using FFPE in assays for precision medicine, the choice of material in the future will become increasingly biased toward FFPE samples from pathology archives. Recognition that FFPE samples may harbor greater variation in quality than frozen samples for several reasons, including variations in fixation and tissue processing, requires that FFPE results be validated provided a cohort of frozen tissue samples is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- E F Gaffney
- a Biobank Ireland Trust , Malahide , Co Dublin , Ireland
| | - P H Riegman
- b Erasmus Medical Centre , Department of Pathology , Rotterdam , The Netherlands
| | - W E Grizzle
- c Department of Pathology , University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) , Birmingham , Alabama , USA
| | - P H Watson
- d BC Cancer Agency , Vancouver Island Center , Victoria , BC , Canada
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