It’s that time of year again when we start to get ready for our charity bike ride to help raise funds for pancreas and liver cancer research for the Leicester Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic (HPB) unit. This team effort involves patients, doctors, nurses, operating theatre staff, friends, relatives, GP’s, senior managers and pharmaceutical company colleagues who come together and work extremely hard in their own time for months before the event.

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease that affects over 10,000 people each year in the UK. It is the 4th most common fatal cancer with the worst survival of all cancers and the number of people affected is increasing. In a recent survey 74% of people in the UK could not name a single symptom of pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately its late presentation means that in 85% of people the diagnosis is made when the disease is advanced and there are very few treatment options. As a consequence surgery to remove the tumour is only possible in only about 15% of patients with pancreatic cancer and sadly approximately one person dies of pancreatic cancer every hour and only 5% of patients live for five years following diagnosis.

In this part of the world the most common form of liver cancer is the result of spread of cells from bowel tumours which implant in the liver and grow producing what are called metastases. Over 40,000 patients will get bowel cancer each year in the UK and 25–30% will develop liver metastases. Fortunately for these patients if surgery is possible the outcome is dramatically improved.

Liver cancers that originate in the liver (primary liver cancer) are much more difficult to treat and surgery is the only curative treatment as these cancers do not respond to other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Liver cancers generally don’t cause signs or symptoms in the early stages of the disease and because of the late presentation are often very difficult to treat.

The Leicester HPB unit has conducted research into the causes and treatments of these cancers for 30 years but unfortunately there is very little money available from the government or major charities who concentrate on better known cancers (breast, lung and prostate). Everyone involved in this charity event realises the importance of raising money to support the research being done in Leicester by the unit’s young surgeons and scientists. Organising studies and analysing samples to help us learn and understand the processes involved in the development and resistance of cancers is very expensive and as a consequence we need to find ways of raising money to ensure that this vital work can continue. Last year we raised over £40,000 which is astonishing and this is vital to support on-going research into these dreadful cancers. Despite all the hard work the event is a fantastic team building exercise enjoyed by everyone who understands the importance of the research being done by our young surgeons and scientists.