After undertaking his initial training in New Zealand,
Chris was appointed as a clinical research fellow at the GI Unit at Royal
Marsden Hospital in London, later appointed to a locum consultant post.
Since returning to New Zealand he has been active in
clinical research and in cancer policy. He was clinical lead for NZ’s largest
colorectal cancer study, the PIPER project; is deputy director of Cancer Trials
NZ, and leads clinical research at Southern DHB. In the policy area he is chair
of the colorectal cancer tumour standards group, and serves on the National
Bowel Cancer Group and Medical Oncology Work Group.
Currently Chris coordinates undergraduate and
postgraduate teaching for oncology at the Dunedin School of Medicine, is Principal
Investigator developing an oral form of paclitaxel, and continues with his bowel
cancer outcomes work with the PIPER project.
In his spare time he likes watching super hero movies,
playing back yard cricket with his kids, and loves cooking.
Colorectal Cancer
in NZ and the PIPER Project: Translating Research into Clinical Outcomes
Colorectal
cancer (CRC) is New Zealand’s cancer. It is our most common cancer, the second
leading cause of cancer death, and we have one of the highest rates in the
world. Despite our world-leading rates, our national response in terms of
prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment has been sluggish compared to other
countries. Several previous researchers had demonstrated that Māori have worse
outcomes due to several small but cumulative discrepancies in quality of care,
and rural patients were also thought to have worse outcomes.
How
can clinical researchers get involved to make a difference?
In
2011 we started the PIPER project – NZ’s largest-ever study of CRC. This
project involved hand-searching the notes of over 6000 patients, creating a
database of over 960,000 data points. We looked to identify key elements of
care and key journey times that could be targeted to improve experience and
outcomes. This presentation will look at the history of colorectal cancer in
NZ, the role of the PIPER project, and how the findings of research have been
translated into clinically meaningful differences for patients – or have they?