How Cancer Research Wales supported my career as a research scientist: Dr Martin Scurr’s story

Whilst many academics start out on careers with aspirations of establishing themselves as independent research scientists, the reality is that very few get the opportunity to progress to senior level positions. 

I have been exceptionally fortunate to receive long-term support from Cancer Research Wales spanning over 15 years, beginning in 2009 with the start of my PhD in the laboratory of Professor Andrew Godkin and Professor Awen Gallimore at Cardiff University.

T cells and their involvement in cancer

My project focussed on better understanding the immune system’s role in controlling bowel cancer. In particular, I studied a particular type of immune cell with known involvement in cancer: ‘T cells’. A key discovery was the identification of two types of T cells: those that attack and destroy cancerous cells and those that suppress this response.

Our research into these complex dual roles of T cells directly informed the development of a clinical trial called ‘TaCTiCC’ (TroVax and Cyclophosphamide Treatment in Colorectal Cancer), involving 54 stage 4 bowel cancer patients recruited from hospitals across south Wales. 

This pioneering trial aimed to improve patient outcomes by boosting the immune system’s cancer-fighting T cells (using a cancer vaccine called ‘TroVax’), while eliminating the suppressive, or ‘regulatory’ T cells that prevent them from working (using low-doses of a drug called cyclophosphamide).

By redressing this interaction, we sought to tip the scales in favour of the patient’s own cancer-killing T cells to help control tumour progression. For these patients in palliative care with limited treatment options, this trial offered a glimmer of hope through a novel approach to immunotherapy. 

Indeed, the overall study findings identified a 9-month improvement in survival amongst those responding to treatment, leading to the publication of our work in world-leading oncology journals.

Colorectal cancer

The positive results and outcomes from TaCTiCC led to the design of a follow-up study, BICCC (Brief Intervention with Cyclophosphamide to prevent relapse in Colorectal Cancer). 

This larger-scale study, again supported by Cancer Research Wales, is the next exciting step in translating our laboratory-based research into clinical applications that could significantly improve the lives of cancer patients.

BICCC explores the potential of using low-dose cyclophosphamide to prevent relapse by boosting the cancer-fighting T cell response, offering patients a better chance of long-term remission following surgery. 

Currently, the study team are busy recruiting 500 earlier stage 2/3 bowel cancer patients across Wales and the UK. Blood samples obtained from these patients continue to be monitored in our laboratory in Cardiff, with initial results of patient outcomes anticipated in the next few years.

Meeting the patients

Undoubtedly one of the most rewarding aspects of my job is meeting the patients and discussing my work. 

As a trained phlebotomist, I regularly meet patients before and after they undergo surgery, taking blood samples for use on my research. Across my PhD and post-doctoral projects, I consented and bled over 200 patients at various stages of their cancer treatment. 

The conversations I had with these individuals continues to shape my research, inform my future projects and ultimately provides a constant source of motivation to improve cancer diagnostics and treatments. 

I would also get to know some of these patients personally, meeting them at their homes weekly to take bloods to better understand whether experimental treatments were boosting their cancer-killing T cells. 

I am exceptionally grateful for their time and enthusiasm to be involved in my research; their positivity and stoicism in the face of their cancer prognosis was inspiring.

Support from Cancer Research Wales

None of this would have been possible without the vital long-term grant funding and commitment to my career provided by Cancer Research Wales. Their sustained support gave me the stability to focus on innovative research with the potential to change lives. 

This type of longer-term funding is absolutely essential for researchers, as it enables us to conduct more comprehensive studies, with the opportunity to create tangible outputs that ensure patients ultimately benefit from that work. 

In my case, it laid the groundwork for the successful TaCTiCC trial and also for the follow-on BICCC study, with the potential to benefit hundreds, perhaps thousands more patients.

The personal impact of Cancer Research Wales' support on my career cannot be overstated. Thanks to their backing, I have been able to advance from a PhD student to now taking on a new position as Research Fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Medicine, where I lead on research projects that further explore T cell responses to disease. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I also co-founded the Cardiff-based biotechnology company ImmunoServ, which is dedicated to running and creating new tests that better measure immune responses across a range of diseases, including infectious diseases, autoimmunity and cancer. 

This opportunity would not have been possible without the trust and investment that Cancer Research Wales placed in my work.

World-leading clinical trials

As I look back on my career and research, I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that Cancer Research Wales has provided me. Their support has allowed me to pursue my passion for cancer immunotherapy, contribute to world-leading clinical trials, and build a career dedicated to improving patient outcomes. 

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone associated with Cancer Research Wales: the staff, volunteers, fundraisers, and the wider community, whose incredible efforts make research like mine possible, and who continue to play such a vital role in the fight against cancer.