Start date: 2021
Award: £50,000
Status: Complete
What problem did this research address?
In the past doctors have tended to look at how we can cure the cancer but as more people are surviving the disease there is an urgent need to look into how to improve patient’s lives after cure. The results of having treatment for bowel cancer can leave 3 of 4 patients with poor control of their bowels for at least 1 year after surgery and for 25% of patients this can be a long term problem (known as LARS).
How did this study work?
The aim of this study was to find out how useful existing treatments for LARS are and potentially creating a treatment pathway that doctors can use to improve bowel function in those who have had surgery. The POLARiS study included all patients from four UK hospitals having surgery for bowel cancer on the left side that involves a join to the rectum (lower part of the bowel). The money provided by Bowel Research UK funded the first part of the study which has now been completed.
The team have since gone on to receive £3.7 million in additional funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council, which mean the trial can be expanded to 20 hospitals across the UK and 10 in Australia. Around 1,500 patients are projected to take part.
What could this study achieve?
By doing these studies, the team will increase the awareness of the problem of poor bowel function after bowel surgery and determine the best treatments to alleviate symptoms.
The research team
This research team was led by Mrs Julie Cornish, a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon working at the University Hospital of Wales. Read more about Mrs Cornish’s work by clicking here.
