Healthcare Sciences staff visit Brussels for European Cancer Summit 2022

Professor Daniel Kelly, Dr Clare Bennett and Dr Judith Csontos from the School of Healthcare Sciences were amongst many international delegates at the European Cancer Summit in Brussels last week.

The summit provided an opportunity for wide-ranging discussions focused on collaboration and the delivery of cancer care.

The summit also saw the launch of the European Groundshot—addressing Europe’s cancer research challenges: a Lancet Oncology Commission. The Commission uses accurate, timely, and granular data to shine a penetrating light on cancer research in Europe, highlighting current and future challenges and identifying gaps within the research landscape.

The School’s Professor Daniel Kelly was one of the contributing authors of the report, which identified many key findings including how European cancer research faces a triple threat. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Brexit mean that cancer research in Europe faces an unprecedented challenge.

Dr Clare Bennett presented an umbrella review concerning the efficacy of interventions aimed at increasing HPV vaccination uptake. This work was led by Dr Deborah Edwards and Dr Clare Bennett and conducted in partnership with colleagues across Europe and the UK. It has recently been published in the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections. The work was commissioned by the European Cancer Organisation HPV Action Network.

Furthermore, Dr Judit Csontos a research associate also presented a poster at the Summit. Her work was one of the 17 posters selected from 120 abstract submissions. Judit's poster presentation focused on 'Understanding how two cancer rehabilitation services work for people in South Wales, UK: findings from a mixed-methods study', and this work was based on the findings of her PhD study.