A University of Liverpool-led research team has been awarded more than £475,000 from Blood Cancer UK to continue and expand UNCOVER, one of the largest blood cancer data research programmes in the world.
Sponsored by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, the UNCOVER study uses routinely collected NHS data from all people diagnosed with blood cancer in England since 2014, creating a unique, national picture of real-world care and outcomes. Data is available for more than 300,000 blood cancer patients, as well as a large control group, making the database globally distinctive in both scale and depth.
The funding from Blood Cancer UK will support UNCOVER for a further three years, helping researchers deepen understanding of how blood cancers are diagnosed, treated and how patients' outcomes vary across England.
Lead Investigator Professor Andrew Pettitt, Ronald Finn Professor of Experimental Medicine, University of Liverpool and Consultant Haemato-Oncologist at Clatterbridge said: "This funding is a huge vote of confidence in UNCOVER and in the power of using real world NHS data to improve outcomes for people with blood cancer. By bringing together clinicians, researchers and patients, we can ask better questions, generate more meaningful evidence and ensure that research leads to real change in care."
Unlike many large research programmes, UNCOVER is shaped jointly by clinicians, patients and early career researchers from across the UK. Research questions are scoped and prioritised through a national advisory group, ensuring the findings address issues that matter most to people affected by blood cancer. Data analysis is performed by an expert team of health data scientists in the Institute of Population Health under the leadership of Professor Catrin Tudur Smith.
Over the past three years, UNCOVER has already generated significant impact, with findings presented at major international scientific conferences and multiple peer reviewed manuscripts now in preparation or submission. The programme has also helped attract additional research funding, including support to investigate health inequalities in blood cancer.
The new funding will allow the team to further expand the database, deliver a larger pipeline of high priority research questions, strengthen education and training opportunities, and build international collaborations. There is also a strong focus on ensuring the research leads to real world impact for patients, including supporting evidence needed to inform NHS decision making.
