CanTest researcher wins World Ovarian Cancer Coalition Impact Award
Dr Garth Funston, CanTest Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge will receive the inaugural Transformational Research Award from the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition for his work on detecting ovarian cancer in primary care.
This award recognises Dr Funston’s longstanding commitment to furthering progress in the understanding of ovarian cancer and to developing approaches to benefit those women impacted by the disease. It will be presented by the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition at a ceremony on 1 October.
Dr Funston’s research aims to improve the detection of ovarian cancer in primary care, which is pivotal in reducing time to diagnosis and improving patient outcomes.
A spokesperson from the Coalition said: “From reviewing guidelines, to unlocking new applications and management strategies for the biomarker CA125, his work has the potential to resolve and rebuke myths and make the most of existing diagnostic tools that are available around the world, while ensuring that guidelines are based on the latest solid evidence.”
They added: “Dr Funston’s research has markedly improved the understanding of how tests for ovarian cancer are used, how accurate they are, and has the potential for women to make more informed choices for themselves and for the ovarian cancer diagnostic pathway to be improved.”
Dr Funston said: “I feel very honoured to have been selected for this award. I became involved in ovarian cancer research when, as a General Practitioner, I saw how challenging it is to detect the disease early in women within primary care.
I believe that through better understanding and use of existing tests, such as CA125, and through optimisation of the diagnostic pathway, we can improve outcomes for women with ovarian cancer. This is something I am passionate about and I plan to continue working on the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the future.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my mentors, Professor Fiona Walter, Professor Emma Crosbie and Professor Willie Hamilton for their guidance over the last few years and to the organisations who have funded my ovarian cancer research including the Cancer Research UK CanTest initiative and Wellbeing of Women.”
Learn more about Dr Funston’s research
NIHR Alert (20 August 2021): A simple blood test may give women with symptoms a personalised risk assessment for ovarian cancer
CanTest announcement (June 12 2021) Could Ovarian Cancer Prediction Models Improve the Triage of Symptomatic Women in Primary Care?
University of Cambridge announcement (December 9 2020): Identifying Ovarian Cancer in Symptomatic Women: A Systematic Review of Clinical Tools
Cancer Research UK announcement (October 28 2020): An existing blood test for ovarian cancer has been re-evaluated. The results are in
Wellbeing of Women announcement: Is this a better test for ovarian cancer?
World Ovarian Cancer Coalition Impact Awards
The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition will stream the awards ceremony on 1 October during the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition Partner Meeting.