Delivered over two afternoon sessions, Dr Elaine Vickers – a leading independent educator on the science of new cancer treatments – will introduce learners to the main groups of systemic cancer treatments and describe how they work. She will then explain how biomarker tests can be used to select the right treatment for each patient.
First session: Elaine provides an overview of the mechanisms of action of chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. She describes why we use antibodies and kinase inhibitors to treat cancer and explains why so many of these treatments target cell communication.
She also briefly describes antibody-drug conjugates and provides an overview of immunotherapies for solid tumours and haematological cancers.
Second session: Elaine introduces biomarkers by describing what they are, where they are found, and how they can be used. She then provides examples of the biomarkers currently used to select treatments for patients, focusing on their applications in lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma skin cancer.
Next up, Elaine looks at what the future might hold for precision medicine in bowel and pancreatic cancer. In the final section. She will explore the possibility of using cancer DNA isolated from the blood as a method for detecting cancers before they cause symptoms.
This course is ideal for clinical staff who may be new to caring for cancer patients including staff nurses, pharmacists and clinical trials coordinators, and is also suitable for anyone involved in cancer research and trials.
Elaine’s goal is to explain the science in an interesting and accessible way, providing learners with a broad understanding that they can build on in the future. She will use colourful illustrations and jargon-free explanations to help learners gain a broad understanding of the concepts covered.
NHS England’s ACCEND Programme aims to support the development of a skilled and knowledgeable cancer workforce.
This course supports Component 3 of the ACCEND pathway, the Education Framework.
Specifically, this course’s objectives and learning outcomes meet core cancer knowledge needs at both the ‘Foundation of Cancer Care’ and ‘Fundamentals of Cancer Care’ levels.
The course will enhance learners’ understanding of cancer biology, the mechanism of action of systemic cancer treatments, and the use of biomarkers to select the best treatments for each patient.
The knowledge gained through this course will empower staff to feel confident when communicating with patients and their families, and with clinical and non-clinical colleagues.
Presentation 1 – Cancer biology, chemotherapy and hormone therapies
Presentation 2 – Targeted therapies
Presentation 3 – Immunotherapy
Presentation 4 – Introduction to biomarkers
Presentation 5 – Precision cancer medicine – where are we now?
Presentation 6 – Precision cancer medicine – where are we heading?
Elaine has created two YouTube playlists about cancer biology and cancer treatments to help learners get the most out of her courses. Each playlist contains 10 videos of between 3 and 8 minutes.
Elaine has also given this advice: “If you’re short on time and you’re not sure about the relationship between DNA, genes and proteins, I would suggest watching the Cells, DNA, genes and chromosomes and From genes to proteins videos from the Cancer Basics playlist as a priority. If you’re new to cancer I’d also recommend the Mutations cause cancer video.”
“In the Cancer Treatments playlist, there are videos about all the various treatments I’ll be mentioning in the first session. The two I’d prioritise explain why we use small chemical compounds (small molecules) and antibodies as cancer treatments.”
Elaine Vickers of Science Communicated Ltd has a PhD in Molecular Biology. She has worked as a cancer educator for over twenty years.
She is passionate about demystifying the science behind cancer biology and the latest cancer treatments such as kinase inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and immunotherapies.
Elaine is experienced in teaching people with any level of scientific or medical knowledge. She particularly loves teaching nurses and other health professionals who might feel daunted by the idea of learning about cancer science.
Her book, A Beginner’s Guide to Targeted Cancer Treatments and Cancer Immunotherapy, is now in its second edition. The first edition was Highly Commended by the British Medical Association book awards.
Elaine also makes short educational videos on cancer biology and treatments, which you can find on her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DrElaineVickers
If you are employed by Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, you can use the coupon code NUTH at the checkout to make a provisional booking and you will need to arrange access to in-house development funding. Your booking will remain provisional until your request has been validated with a funding/study leave reference.
If you are not employed by the Newcastle Hospitals an online card payment is required at the point of booking. Alternatively, if you are to be funded by your employer an invoice can be requested by using the coupon code Invoice.
If you are a LET employee you will need to pay by card as we are unable to invoice LETs.
Please see Coupons for further information relating to coupon codes and how to use them at checkout.
Should you no longer be able to attend the event on the booked date, please contact the Academy as we may be able to offer an alternative date subject to an admin charge.
Should you still wish to cancel your booking, you or your employer will be charged as per the fees outlined below. Please contact [email protected]t to cancel your booking.
| Timescale | Fee paying course |
| Over 6 weeks | £25 admin charge |
| 2 to 6 weeks | 50% of course fee |
| 0 to 2 weeks | 100% of course fee |
If you do not attend on the day, you will be charged the full cost of the event place.
See our Terms & Conditions and Cancellations & Refunds pages for more details.
