The Trust is part of a new £21.9 million national research programme to help improve cancer treatment and better understand how cancer patients respond to immunotherapy.
The National Pathology Imaging Co-operative (NPIC) based at LTHT, is part of this national programme and will play a key role by using its advanced national digital pathology imaging platform to help create, store and analyse the data.
The new programme, called MANIFEST (Multiomic Analysis of Immunotherapy Features Evidencing Success and Toxicity), will study why immunotherapy works for some people but not others. Researchers will focus on identifying biomarkers – signs that can help doctors predict whether a patient will respond well to immunotherapy. These findings could also help develop new treatments, like vaccines or cell therapies.
The study will initially involve 6,000 cancer patients across the UK, including those with breast, bladder, kidney and skin cancers. Over the next four years, researchers will collect samples such as blood, tissue and stool to analyse different aspects of cancerous tumours and the immune system. This will help scientists understand how patients’ immune systems and the cancer interact, as well as to develop better, more personalised treatments.
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. It has been very effective for some cancers, like melanoma (a skin cancer), and can even cure advanced cases for some patients. However, many patients do not benefit from this treatment, and some experience severe side effects. Even in cases where immunotherapy works best, such as melanoma, only about 50% of patients respond positively.
MANIFEST is funded by £9m from the Medical Research Council and the Office for Life Sciences, with an additional £12.9m in matched funds from industry.
Dr Daljeet Bansal, Operations Director, National Pathology Imaging Co-operative, NPIC:
“Being part of the MANIFEST programme will provide an opportunity for NPIC to advance our work
in digital pathology and cancer research. This collaboration brings together leading institutions
across the UK, and we are proud to contribute to an effort that has the potential to significantly
impact patient outcomes.”
Dr Matt Humphries, Research Operations Manager, National Pathology Imaging Co-operative, NPIC:
“NPIC is excited to be part of the MANIFEST programme. This investment will allow us to apply our
expertise, and cutting-edge digital pathology infrastructure to drive advances in cancer
immunotherapy research. By working with our partners across the UK, we are committed to using
.innovative technology to better understand how patients respond to treatment and ultimately
improve cancer care.”
About Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest teaching hospital trusts in the UK, committed to advancing healthcare and improving patient outcomes through collaboration with academic institutions, industry partners and healthcare organisations.
From April 2023 to March 2024, the Trust delivered a diverse research portfolio, recruiting 25,695 participants to 760 active research studies and 22,113 participants to the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) portfolio studies.
The Trust has over 25 dedicated research teams, five NIHR Leeds Clinical Research Facilities and the Innovation Pop Up, aiming to be the best Trust to deliver high-quality clinical research and to champion research amongst staff.
