"The National Oncology Trainees Collaborative for Healthcare Research (NOTCH) held their 3rd and largest conference in March 2023. This year, there was a focus on cancer care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), also known as “global oncology”.
Dr Susannah Stanway gave an excellent overview of the field of global oncology. She described vast opportunities for improving cancer care globally and barriers that need to be overcome. Globally, the majority of deaths from cancer care occur in low- and middle-income countries and Dr Stanway discussed how collaborative partnerships with colleagues across the world can address this.
We were privileged to hear from Professor Hannah Simonds, who spoke about her time as head of the oncology department at Stellenboch University, South Africa. We heard about the significant clinical workload that made working in the UK’s NHS comparatively feel like a “rest”. Dr Simmonds stressed the importance of spending time working in a country in order to understand the context. In addition, Dr Simmonds offered advice for getting involved in research in LMICs and the need for innovative solutions, including AI, to address the large burden of cancer globally.
Results from a cross-sectional survey of staff experience and interest in the field of global oncology were presented in poster format at NOTCH 2023 (Figure 1).
Data from The Christie, Manchester, The Royal Marsden and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, demonstrated high levels of staff interest in global cancer care. In addition, many existing links with low- and middle-income countries were identified. The poster was successful in winning the prize for “Best Poster” at NOTCH 2023.
In collaboration with NOTCH, several members of NOTCH are setting up a “Future Cancer Leaders” group within the UK and Ireland Global Cancer Network (UKI GCN). The aim of the group is to facilitate networking, learning and advocacy in global cancer care.
Initial meetings are to be held in August 2023, please contact uk.notch@nhs.net for more information.
More information about the UKI GCN can be found here. "
Dr Katy Piddock, Specialist Registrar in Clinical Oncology, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre