12th December 2011

Hospitals in Leeds conducted the most studies of new drugs and treatments last year.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust topped the first-ever national table as it carried out 332 clinical research studies between April 2010 and March 2011. It also recruited more than 11,000 patients onto medical trials, the fourth highest number of all English hospital trusts.

Dr Jonathan Sheffield, chief executive of the NIHR Clinical Research Network, said: “This is fantastic news and illustrates that our partners in Leeds are truly placing research at the core of NHS business. Their recruitment of 11,660 patients indicates a strong commitment to research and innovation as well as their drive to improve clinical outcomes for patients.”

26th September 2011

Success for the Azure trial team - the first efficacy paper for the Azure trial was printed in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Details of the trial have been reported online at Science Daily.

The original article can be viewed on the NEJM website.

26th September 2011 - Azure trial in the Yorkshire Post

Brittle-bones drug offers hope to older breast cancer patients

"Tens of thousands of older women suffering from breast cancer in the UK could benefit from a drug used to protect bone health, researchers from Yorkshire revealed yesterday.

Results of a worldwide trial led by experts from Sheffield and Leeds universities, announced at the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm, show the drug zoledronic acid, used mainly to treat osteoporosis, improves the survival of post-menopausal patients."

Sky reports on the ROLARR trial being led from the CTRU, University of Leeds, comparing robotic and laparoscopic surgery for bowel cancer. Features interviews with lead surgeon David Jayne and pathology expert Professor Philip Quirke.

Watch the news piece here: http://news.sky.com/home/technology/article/16039711

1st May 2011 - Rolarr featured in the Daily Mail

Curing bowel cancer the £1.6m robot! How these four-armed machines could improve survival rates and cut risks

"Above the operating table, four robotic arms  -  which would not look out of place in a car factory  -  whirr slowly into life. On the ends of each arm (covered in plastic, for hygiene reasons) are surgical instruments, inserted into the patient's abdomen through small keyhole incisions."