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Writer's pictureCarley Batley

"Which stars should we head for?" We look to the future at our Symposium and Virtual Institute Launch

On 12 September, we held our second bi-annual Urological Malignancies Symposium. To celebrate the launch of the Urological Malignancies Virtual Institute (UM-VI), the theme of the 2024 symposium was 'the Future of Urological Cancers.' More than 70 University and NHS colleagues, as well as guests from the University of Oxford, heard talks by eight UM-VI members, a keynote by Professor Tim Eisen, and flash talks from ten early career researchers at Cambridge and Oxford, all at beautiful Christ's College.



The day opened with remarks by Professor Richard Gilbertson, Director of the CRUK Cambridge Centre. Professor Gilbertson explained the concept of a Virtual Institute as a stepping stone towards becoming a physical institute. He congratulated UM-VI Leads Grant Stewart and Brent O’Carrigan on achieving Virtual Institute status, a recognition of the quality of the UM Programme.


The first session 'The Near Future' was opened by Hannah Harrison and Juliet Usher-Smith with a talk on PREDICT Kidney, a decision-making tool aiming to promote more informed decision making about follow-up care for kidney cancer. Next, Tristan Barrett shared bright news in prostate radiology, including how AI is helping radiologists avoid the 'triangle of death' in image quality (a phenomenon where any improvement in one factor (spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, time) causes deficits in another), and the potential for MRI-led screening for prostate cancer. To close the session, Will Ince shared good news from the bladder cancer space, including how neoadjuvant therapies are helping patients avoid cystectomy.


After coffee and biscuits, we returned to hear about 'Urology in 2034', starting with Sarah Burge who shared plans for integration of research and patient care in the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, planned to open in 2029. Sarah shared how patients and the public are involved in every part of planning the new hospital. James Jones shared how current research in the UM-VI could shape the renal oncology clinic of 2034, including AI-assisted pathology and radiology for faster diagnosis, more precise deployment of adjuvant treatment, and wider adoption of neoadjuvant therapy. James shared a vision for highly adaptable, personalised kidney cancer patient pathway in 2034. Then, Ferdia Gallagher shared exciting developments in urological imaging, including how multiscale, multimodal, and multi-omic imaging can help deliver precision medicine in oncology.


After lunch we heard an exciting round of flash talks by early career researchers from both Cambridge and Oxford:

Justicia Kyeremeh

Digital Twin-Assisted Surgery: A New Paradigm to Personalise Kidney Cancer Surgery

Hania Paverd

Leveraging machine learning for treatment response prediction in renal cell carcinoma with venous tumour thrombus

Rebecca Wray

Multi-Scale AI for Response Prediction and Biological Insights in ccRCC

Chiara Re

Cambridge kidney One Stop Mass Investigation Clinic (CkOSMIC): first interim analysis

William McGough

AI-Powered Screening for RCC in Low-Dose CT

Srinivasa Rao

Spatial genomics and image analysis to understand genotype-phenotype association

Sandy Figiel

Exploring new depths in research with 3D microscopy

Edward O’Neill

Radiobiology of radionuclide therapy in prostate cancer

Rachel Matthews

Nanomagnetic Heterostructures for the Improved Detection of Kidney Cancer

Nikita Sushentev

Validation or Refutation?

The flash talks demonstrated the breadth and diversity of new research at Cambridge and Oxford, covering themes including surgery, imaging, AI and machine learning, diagnosis, digital pathology, genomics, radiotherapy, physics, and philosophy.

For our final session, 'The Far Future', Tom Mitchell and Harveer Dev shared their visions of the future in kidney and prostate cancers respectively. Tom summarised cutting-edge techniques and technologies that he believes will form the backbone of patient care in the next 20 years. Tom also outlined what he believes is needed for better patient outcomes in the future: earlier detection, more sophisticated risk stratification, and prevention strategies. Harveer shared work from his lab that aims to improve patient outcomes through early detection and intervention. In light of predictions of a doubling of cases by 2040 (The Lancet, 4 April 2024), early detection, early intervention, and more sophisticated therapies are becoming more important.


After a final round of coffee and cake, we settled in to hear Professor Tim Eisen deliver the day's keynote speech, in memory of our late friend and colleague Charlie Massie. Professor Eisen’s lecture, subtitled ‘Which stars should we head for?’, drew on his experience in the pharmaceutical industry as well as his insider-knowledge of the UM-VI. After a guide to building industry collaborations, Tim summarised the strengths in the room and recommended a path to developing those strengths – the stars we should aim for.

An enormous thank you to all who attended and especially those who gave a talk or chaired a session. It was wonderful to see so many colleagues together, to share our work, and to look to a bright future. See you in 2026.

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