NIHR Cancer Policy Research Unit (PRU): A cohort study monitoring cancer-related primary care activity and patient outcomes, and the impact of significant events

Project outline

The Policy Research Unit (PRU) in Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis is co-hosted with University College London (UCL) and led by Professor Georgios Lyratzopoulos (UCL) and Associate Professor Brian Nicholson (Oxford).

Some of the topics we are investigating include:

• Promoting awareness of possible cancer symptoms to enable patients to seek help early
• Assisting health care professionals in assessing cancer risk and monitoring persistent symptoms
• Testing new screening and diagnostic methods
• Reducing health inequality

 “The Policy Research Units are placed at the forefront of change, integrating ground-breaking research into actionable policy. This collaboration isn't just about discovery; it's about translating our findings into practices that can genuinely make a difference to patients in early cancer detection and care” Brian Nicholson

How does this research try to address the problem?

The PRUs, funded by NIHR’s Policy Research Programme, play a vital role in making sure the government and arm’s length bodies have the best possible information and evidence available when making policy decisions about health and social care.

Using real-world data and advanced analytics techniques, researchers in NDPCHS are shaping the future of early cancer detection as well as improving care and outcomes for patients.

How we are planning to implement the research outputs 

Teams across NDPCHS continue to research innovative ways to improve cancer diagnosis, intervention and care for cancer patients. Research teams across the department continue to deliver evidence-based studies focused on improving patient outcomes and closing the cancer care gap.

How were the patient and public involved?