Delivered over one afternoon session, Dr Elaine Vickers – a leading independent educator on the science of new cancer treatments – provides an up-to-date overview of modern systemic treatment approaches given to people with bowel cancer including treatment combinations and new approaches currently being investigated in clinical trials.
Elaine first of all looks at the gene mutations and faulty processes and pathways that give rise to bowel cancer, explaining the relationship between mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) and microsatellite instability (MSI).
She then turns her attention to antibodies that target the EGF receptor (EGFR) and also summarises why they’re only effective for some people and looks at various reasons for resistance.
Checkpoint inhibitor therapy has recently given highly promising results in trials, but only if the tumour is dMMR/MSI. Elaine will describe why this is, and explore whether immunotherapy might still hold promise for people whose cancers don’t display this characteristic.
Lastly, Elaine will look at other targeted therapies and immunotherapies that have shown recent promise in trials. These include drugs that target B-Raf, HER2 and Ras proteins.
Dr Vickers’ goal is to explain the science that underpins each treatment. She also hopes to provide learners with a broad understanding of why treatments work well for some patients but not for others.
This half day course is ideal for research nurses, clinical nurse specialists, pharmacists and clinical trials coordinators. It may also be of interest to other healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of people with bowel cancer, and to junior doctors.
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 – Biology and genetics of bowel cancer
Presentation 2 – Targeting the EGFR in bowel cancer
Presentation 3 – More targets and treatments for bowel cancer
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 between 3 and 8 minutes long.
Elaine advises “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. Also, if you’re new to cancer, I’d recommend the Mutations cause cancer video and, in order to understand how cancer cells interact with the cells around them, watch the Tumours are complicated places video.”
“In the Cancer Treatments playlist, there are videos about all the various treatments I’ll be mentioning. The two I’d prioritise explain why we use small chemical compounds (small molecules) and antibodies as cancer treatments. If you have more time, do also watch the videos on kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors.”
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
