New Head of Research at Irish Cancer Society reveals vision for cancer research in Ireland
“Quality of cancer care is dependent on the quality of cancer research,” said Prof. John Fitzpatrick
The newly appointed Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, Professor John Fitzpatrick, today reveals the Society’s vision for cancer research in Ireland that focuses on encouraging collaboration in research and developing a cancer research centre, which will necessitate a major increase in funding. Prof. Fitzpatrick has considerable experience in cancer research, which has been recognised nationally and internationally, having been Professor of Surgery and Consultant Urologist at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and University College Dublin since 1986.
In his role as Head of Research, Prof. Fitzpatrick will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for cancer research and will co-ordinate research efforts throughout Ireland, while encouraging collaboration through mechanisms such as the Cancer Research UK model of cancer centres.
“Cancer is a major cause of death and disease in this country with cancer rates expected to rise from 30,000 new cases diagnosed annually to 40,000 by 2020,” said Prof. Fitzpatrick. “The quality of cancer care is dependent on the quality of cancer research. Cancer research of the highest quality is already being widely performed in this country and this level of research attracts internationally-recognised leaders. Their work ensures that new approaches to diagnosis and management of cancer will be available to patients in this country, which will of course ultimately improve outcomes.”
“Our vision is to establish a Cancer Research Centre similar to the existing model in Belfast, where such a centre allows clinical activity and research endeavours to co-exist in the same building on a hospital campus. It also houses a drug trials unit with the result that the ‘bench to bedside’ concept is easier to achieve. As we know from programme grants already funded by the Irish Cancer Society, collaboration is beneficial in that it has a much greater impact and prevents fragmentation of research and reduplication of effort around the country.”
He added, “We recognise that there is a substantial cost associated with developing a cancer research centre of this quality. Therefore, in the interim, our intention is to develop virtual cancer research centres as a method to deliver funding to already established cancer research units with a collaborative emphasis. The Irish Cancer Society has provided significant funding of almost €30 million to cancer research in Ireland over the past 50 years. We also recognise that if we are to maintain the €3.1 million investment made in research in 2011 and increase this funding for cancer research this year, we will need even more voluntary contributions from the public which can be dedicated to research and improving the overall health of the nation.”
Commenting on the recent appointment, John McCormack, CEO, the Irish Cancer Society said, “Appointing Professor Fitzpatrick as our new Head of Research is a major step forward for us in the fight against cancer. Research is an area of great strategic importance for the Society, and with his expertise, we want the Irish Cancer Society to develop a major leadership role in cancer research in Ireland.”
He added, “We also want to deliver on our promise to the 34% of donors who request that their donation should be specifically dedicated to the research effort of the Society. If you would like to support us or find out more about our research programme visit our website www.cancer.ie.”
Over the past 30 years, research funded by the Irish Cancer Society has led to major advances in cancer research and more than 650 important research findings have been discovered. Currently, the Society is supporting 33 researchers as they investigate a number of potentially important discoveries in all types of cancer including breast, colorectal, ovarian, leukaemia, oesophageal, lung, prostate and metastatic cancers.
