̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Mouse study suggests a common diabetes drug may prevent leukaemia

cjb250 — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:59:00 +0000

Around 3,100 people are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) each year in the UK. It is an aggressive form of blood cancer that is very difficult to treat. Thanks to recent advances, individuals at high risk of AML can be identified years in advance using blood tests and blood DNA analysis, but there’s no suitable treatment that can prevent them from developing the disease.

In this study, Professor George Vassiliou and colleagues at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge investigated how to prevent abnormal blood stem cells with genetic changes from progressing to become AML. ̽��ֱ��work focused on the most common genetic change, which affects a gene called DNMT3A and is responsible for starting 10-15% of AML cases.

Professor Vassiliou, from the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant Haematologist at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) co-led the study. He said: “Blood cancer poses unique challenges compared to solid cancers like breast or prostate, which can be surgically removed if identified early. With blood cancers, we need to identify people at risk and then use medical treatments to stop cancer progression throughout the body.”

̽��ֱ��research team examined blood stem cells from mice with the same changes in DNMT3A as seen in the pre-cancerous cells in humans. Using a genome-wide screening technique, they showed that these cells depend more on mitochondrial metabolism than healthy cells, making this a potential weak spot. ̽��ֱ��researchers went on to confirm that metformin, and other mitochondria-targeting drugs, substantially slowed the growth of mutation-bearing blood cells in mice. Further experiments also showed that metformin could have the same effect on human blood cells with the DNMT3A mutation.

Dr Malgorzata Gozdecka, Senior Research Associate at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and first author of the research said: “Metformin is a drug that impacts mitochondrial metabolism, and these pre-cancerous cells need this energy to keep growing. By blocking this process, we stop the cells from expanding and progressing towards AML, whilst also reversing other effects of the mutated DNMT3A gene.”

In addition, the study looked at data from over 412,000 UK Biobank volunteers and found that people taking metformin were less likely to have changes in the DNMT3A gene. This link remained even after accounting for factors that could have confounded the results such as diabetes status and BMI.

Professor Brian Huntly, Head of the Department of Haematology at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Honorary Consultant Haematologist at CUH, and joint lead author of the research, added: “Metformin appears highly specific to this mutation rather than being a generic treatment. That specificity makes it especially compelling as a targeted prevention strategy.

“We’ve done the extensive research all the way from cell-based studies to human data, so we’re now at the point where we have a made a strong case for moving ahead with clinical trials. Importantly, metformin’s lack of toxicity will be a major advantage as it is already used by millions of people worldwide with a well-established safety profile.”

̽��ֱ��results of the study, funded by Blood Cancer UK with additional support from Cancer Research UK, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (USA) and the Wellcome Trust, are published in Nature.

Dr Rubina Ahmed, Director of Research at Blood Cancer UK, said: “Blood cancer is the third biggest cancer killer in the UK, with over 280,000 people currently living with the disease. Our Blood Cancer Action plan shed light on the shockingly low survival for acute myeloid leukaemia, with only around 2 in 10 surviving for 5 years, and we urgently need better strategies to save lives. Repurposing safe, widely available drugs like metformin means we could potentially get new treatments to people faster, without the need for lengthy drug development pipelines.”

̽��ֱ��next phase of this research will focus on clinical trials to test metformin’s effectiveness in people with changes in DNMT3A at increased risk of developing AML. With metformin already approved and widely used for diabetes, this repurposing strategy could dramatically reduce the time it takes to bring a new preventive therapy to patients.

Tanya Hollands, Research Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, who contributed funding for the lab-based screening in mice, said: “It's important that we work to find new ways to slow down or prevent AML in people at high risk. Therefore, it’s positive that the findings of this study suggest a possible link between a commonly-used diabetes drug and prevention of AML progression in some people. While this early-stage research is promising, clinical trials are now needed to find out if this drug could benefit people. We look forward to seeing how this work progresses.”

Reference
Gozdecka, M et al. Mitochondrial metabolism sustains DNMT3A-R882-mutant clonal haematopoiesis. Nature; 16 Apr 2025; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08980-6

Adapted from a press release from Blood Cancer UK

Metformin, a widely used and affordable diabetes drug, could prevent a form of acute myeloid leukaemia in people at high risk of the disease, a study in mice has suggested. Further research in clinical trials will be needed to confirm this works for patients.

We’ve done the extensive research all the way from cell-based studies to human data, so we’re now at the point where we have a made a strong case for moving ahead with clinical trials

Brian Huntly

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Brown lab mouse on blue gloved hand

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

One in 3,000 people at risk of punctured lung from faulty gene – almost 100 times higher than previous estimate

cjb250 — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 23:01:05 +0000

̽��ֱ��gene in question, FLCN, is linked to a condition known as Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, symptoms of which include benign skin tumours, lung cysts, and an increased risk of kidney cancer.

In a study published today in the journal Thorax, a team from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge examined data from UK Biobank, the 100,000 Genomes Project, and East London Genes & Health – three large genomic datasets encompassing more than 550,000 people.

They discovered that between one in 2,710 and one in 4,190 individuals carries the particular variant of FLCN that underlies Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome. But curiously, whereas patients with a diagnosis of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome have a lifetime risk of punctured lung of 37%, in the wider cohort of carriers of the genetic mutation this was lower at 28%. Even more striking, while patients with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome have a 32% of developing kidney cancer, in the wider cohort this was only 1%.

Punctured lung – known as pneumothorax – is caused by an air leak in the lung, resulting in painful lung deflation and shortness of breath. Not every case of punctured lung is caused by a fault in the FLCN gene, however. Around one in 200 tall, thin young men in their teens or early twenties will experience a punctured lung, and for many of them the condition will resolve itself, or doctors will remove air or fluid from their lungs while treating the individual as an outpatient; many will not even know they have the condition.

If an individual experiences a punctured lung and doesn’t fit the common characteristics – for example, if they are in their forties – doctors will look for tell-tale cysts in the lower lungs, visible on an MRI scan. If these are present, then the individual is likely to have Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.

Professor Marciniak is a researcher at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and an honorary consultant at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He co-leads the UK’s first Familial Pneumothorax Rare Disease Collaborative Network, together with Professor Kevin Blyth at Queen Elizabeth ̽��ֱ�� Hospital and ̽��ֱ�� of Glasgow. ̽��ֱ��aim of the Network is to optimise the care and treatment of patients with rare, inherited forms of familial pneumothorax, and to support research into this condition.

Professor Marciniak said: “If an individual has Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, then it’s very important that we’re able to diagnose it, because they and their family members may also be at risk of kidney cancer.

“ ̽��ֱ��good news is that the punctured lung usually happens 10 to 20 years before the individual shows symptoms of kidney cancer, so we can keep an eye on them, screen them every year, and if we see the tumour it should still be early enough to cure it.”

Professor Marciniak says he was surprised to discover that the risk of kidney cancer was so much lower in carriers of the faulty FLCN gene who have not been diagnosed with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.

“Even though we’ve always thought of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome as being caused by a single faulty gene, there’s clearly something else going on,” Professor Marciniak said. “ ̽��ֱ��Birt-Hogg-Dubé patients that we've been caring for and studying for the past couple of decades are not representative of when this gene is broken in the wider population. There must be something else about their genetic background that’s interacting with the gene to cause the additional symptoms.”

̽��ֱ��finding raises the question of whether, if an individual is found to have a fault FLCN gene, they should be offered screening for kidney cancer. However, Professor Marciniak does not believe this will be necessary.

“With increasing use of genetic testing, we will undoubtedly find more people with these mutations,” he said, “but unless we see the other tell-tale signs of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, our study shows there's no reason to believe they’ll have the same elevated cancer risk.”

̽��ֱ��research was funded by the Myrovlytis Trust, with additional support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Katie Honeywood, CEO of the Myrovlytis Trust, said: " ̽��ֱ��Myrovlytis Trust are delighted to have funded such an important project. We have long believed that the prevalence of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome is far higher than previously reported. It highlights the importance of genetic testing for anyone who has any of the main symptoms associated with BHD including a collapsed lung. And even more so the importance of the medical world being aware of this condition for anyone who presents at an emergency department or clinic with these symptoms. We look forward to seeing the impact this projects outcome has on the Birt-Hogg-Dubé and wider community."

Reference
Yngvadottir, B et al. Inherited predisposition to pneumothorax: Estimating the frequency of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome from genomics and population cohorts. Thorax; 8 April 2025; DOI: 10.1136/thorax-2024-221738

As many as one in 3,000 people could be carrying a faulty gene that significantly increases their risk of a punctured lung, according to new estimates from Cambridge researchers. Previous estimates had put this risk closer to one in 200,000 people.

If an individual has Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, then it’s very important that we’re able to diagnose it, because they and their family members may also be at risk of kidney cancer

Stefan Marciniak

wildpixel (Getty Images)

Chest pain

Yes

Routine asthma test more reliable in the morning and has seasonal effects

cjb250 — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:01:06 +0000

Using real world data from 1,600 patients, available through a database created for speeding up research and innovation, the team also found that its reliability differs significantly in winter compared to autumn.

Asthma is a common lung condition that can cause wheezing and shortness of breath, occasionally severe. Around 6.5% of people over six years old in the UK are affected by the condition. Treatments include the use of inhalers or nebulisers to carry medication into the lungs.

̽��ֱ��majority of asthma attacks occur at nighttime or early in the morning. Although this may in part be due to cooler nighttime air and exposure to dust mites and allergens, it also suggests that circadian rhythms – our ‘body clocks’ – likely play a role.

Researchers at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, a collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RPH), wanted to explore whether these circadian rhythms may also have an impact on our ability to diagnose asthma, using routinely performed clinical testing.

Typically, people with suspected asthma will be offered a spirometry test, which involves taking a deep breath in, then breathing out hard and fast for as long as possible into a tube to assess lung function. They will then be administered the drug salbutamol via an inhaler or nebuliser, and shortly afterwards retake the spirometry test.

Salbutamol works by opening up the airways, so a positive test result – that is, a difference in readings between the initial and follow-up spirometry tests – means that the airways must have been narrower or obstructed to begin with, suggesting that the patient could have asthma.

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) has recently set up the Electronic Patient Record Research and Innovation (ERIN) database so that researchers can access patient data in a secure environment to help in their research and speed up improvements in patient care.

Using this resource, the Cambridge team analysed data from 1,600 patients referred to CUH between 2016 and 2023, adjusted for factors such as age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking history, and the severity of the initial impairment in lung function.

In findings published today in Thorax, the researchers found that starting at 8.30am, with every hour that passed during the working day, the chances of a positive response to the test – in other words, the patient’s lungs responding to treatment, suggesting that they could have asthma – decreased by 8%.

Dr Ben Knox-Brown, Lead Research Respiratory Physiologist at RPH, said: “Given what we know about how the risk of an asthma attack changes between night and day, we expected to find a difference in how people responded to the lung function test, but even so, we were surprised by the size of the effect.

“This has potentially important implications. Doing the test in the morning would give a more reliable representation of a patient's response to the medication than doing it in the afternoon, which is important when confirming a diagnosis such as asthma.”

̽��ֱ��researchers also discovered that individuals were 33% less likely to have a positive result if tested during autumn when compared to those tested during winter.

Dr Akhilesh Jha, a Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at CUH, said that there may be a combination of factors behind this difference.

“Our bodies have natural rhythms – our body clocks,” Jha said. “Throughout the day, the levels of different hormones in our bodies go up and down and our immune systems perform differently, for example. Any of these factors might affect how people respond to the lung function test.

“ ̽��ֱ��idea that the time of day, or the season of the year, affects our health and how we respond to treatments is something we’re seeing increasing evidence of. We know, for example, that people respond differently to vaccinations depending on whether they’re administered in the morning or afternoon. ̽��ֱ��findings of our study further support this idea and may need to be taken into account when interpreting the results of these commonly performed tests.”

Reference
Knox-Brown, B et al. ̽��ֱ��effect of time of day and seasonal variation on bronchodilator responsiveness: ̽��ֱ��SPIRO-TIMETRY study. Thorax; 12 March 2025; DOI: 10.1136/thorax-2024-222773

A lung function test used to help diagnose asthma works better in the morning, becoming less reliable throughout the day, Cambridge researchers have found.

Throughout the day, the levels of different hormones in our bodies go up and down and our immune systems perform differently. Any of these factors might affect how people respond to the lung function test

Akhilesh Jha

Koldunov (Getty Images)

Man testing breathing function by spirometry - stock photo

Yes

Landmark 'pill-on-a-thread' cancer screening trial welcomes first participants

cjb250 — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 12:00:02 +0000

A pivotal clinical trial of a 'pill-on-a-thread' test, which will decide if it becomes a new screening programme for oesophageal cancer, has welcomed its first participants.

Cambridge and GSK announce new five-year collaboration aiming for improved outcomes for patients with hard-to-treat kidney and respiratory diseases

skbf2 — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 23:01:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration (CG-TIC) combines ̽��ֱ�� and GSK expertise in the science of the immune system, AI and clinical development with access to patients and their data provided by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals.
GSK is investing more than £50 million in CG-TIC, further strengthening Cambridge’s position as Europe’s leading life sciences cluster.

GSK plc is making this investment to establish the Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration (CG-TIC), a five-year collaboration with the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals. ̽��ֱ��collaboration is focused on understanding the onset of a disease, its progression, how patients respond to therapies and on developing biomarkers for rapid diagnosis. Ultimately, the goal is to trial more effective, personalised medicines.

̽��ֱ��collaboration will focus on kidney and respiratory diseases, both of which affect large numbers of people worldwide. Kidney disease is estimated to affect 850 million people (roughly 10% of the world’s population) (International Society of Nephrology) and chronic respiratory diseases around 545 million ( ̽��ֱ��Lancet).

Many types of kidney disease remain poorly understood and treatments, where they exist, tend to have limited efficacy. Chronic kidney disease is particularly unpleasant and debilitating for patients, often leading to end-stage disease. Treatments such as transplant and dialysis involve complex medical regimes and frequent hospital visits, making effective prevention and treatment the aim.

To make progress in treating these challenging disease areas, CG-TIC will apply an array of new techniques, including the use of cutting-edge single cell technologies to characterise how genes are expressed in individual cells. AI and machine learning have a critical role to play in transforming how data is combined and interrogated.

Using these techniques, the ambition is to be able to initiate new studies and early phase trials of new therapies for a number of hard-to-treat diseases which affect the kidneys. ̽��ֱ��same techniques will be applied to respiratory diseases and findings will be shared across the disease areas potentially to help identify and share better treatments across these different targets.

Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, welcomed the collaboration: " ̽��ֱ��UK's life sciences industry is thriving, driving innovation and improving lives. This collaboration between GSK and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge demonstrates our country's leading research and development capabilities.

“By focusing on cutting-edge research and harnessing the power of AI, this has the potential to advance the treatment of immune-related diseases, which could benefit patients both here in the UK and internationally. It's a clear example of how collaboration between industry, academia, and healthcare can deliver tangible results and strengthen the UK's position in healthcare innovation."

Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer, GSK, added: “Collaboration is at the heart of scientific progress and is fundamental to how we do R&D at GSK. We’re excited to build on our existing work with the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge to further this world-leading scientific and technological capability in the UK. By bringing together Cambridge’s expertise and our own internal capabilities, including understanding of the immune system and the use of AI to accelerate drug development, we have an opportunity to help patients struggling with complex disease.”

̽��ֱ��aim of CG-TIC is to improve outcomes for patients and Cambridge provides a unique environment in which to involve them, with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals playing a pivotal role in the collaboration and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UK’s leading heart and lung hospital, a likely future partner.

Home to the hospitals and to much of the collaboration’s research activity, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus provides a unique environment where academia, industry and healthcare can come together and where human translational research is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� sits at the heart of Europe’s leading life sciences cluster, where excellent research and the NHS’s clinical resources combine with the talent generated by the many innovative bioscience companies that call Cambridge home. Through this very important collaboration with GSK, Cambridge will be able to drive economic growth for the UK while improving the health of people in this country and around the world.”

Roland Sinker, CEO of Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, also welcomed the collaboration, saying: “We are very excited to be part of this important partnership, which is another example of Cambridge experts working together to develop transformational new therapies, and use existing ones more precisely, to improve outcomes for patients with chronic and debilitating conditions.”

̽��ֱ��Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration will be co-led by Nicolas Wisniacki, VP, Clinical Research Head, GSK (above left) and David Thomas, Professor of Renal Medicine, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and principal investigator at the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

̽��ֱ��ambition of the partnership is to treat immune-related diseases more precisely with existing therapies and to rapidly develop new ones.

̽��ֱ��UK's life sciences industry is thriving, driving innovation and improving lives. This collaboration between GSK and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge demonstrates our country's leading research and development capabilities.

Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

StillVision

David Thomas, Professor of Renal Medicine, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Dr Nicolas Wisniacki, VP, Clinical Research Head, GSK

Yes

Team’s hip replacement surgery invention is set to be world first

sc604 — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 11:18:10 +0000

They have just won an award to develop their technology, which aims to make hip surgery more precise and deliver better and longer-lasting outcomes – which is good for patients and the NHS.

̽��ֱ��National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded a £1.4 million Invention for Innovation (i4i) Product Development Award to advance work on the team’s “smart” joint “trial liner”.

̽��ֱ��sensors measure forces passing through the hip joint to help the surgeon assess and balance the soft tissues, which aids the accurate positioning of the implant.

Once measurements are complete using the wireless surgical aid, the surgeon marks the ideal position for the implant, removes the smart trial liner, and completes the operation.

There are currently no technologies that can deliver such readings during an operation and in real-time, and instead surgeons balance the joint based on feel and anatomical landmarks.

This is despite over two million total hip replacements being performed annually, with the number constantly rising due to increasing lifespans. Younger patients are starting to need hip replacements as well, so implants need to withstand higher stresses and last longer, to avoid spiralling into a vicious circle of revision surgery and higher rates of dissatisfaction.

Driving this clinical initiative is the chief investigator from Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust, Consultant orthopaedic surgeon, clinical and research lead of the Young Adult Hip Service, and Affiliate Associate Professor at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Vikas Khanduja.

̽��ֱ��technology development is being overseen by Professor Sohini Kar-Narayan from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, together with Dr Jehangir Cama, who is leading on translational and commercialisation activities. They are joined by Consultant clinical scientist and CUH head of clinical engineering, Professor Paul White.

“We’re really looking forward to this next phase of product development that will see us move towards an actual product that is fit for clinical use, and that has the potential to revolutionise joint replacement surgery,” said Kar-Narayan.

“This funding will bring together wide-ranging expertise to help us further develop our prototype, bringing this technology closer to clinical use,” said Cama.

̽��ֱ��team currently has a prototype version of the device, which has been validated in the laboratory and in other tests. However, the NIHR award is important for further development and finalisation of the design and compliance with regulations before it can be tested in a living patient.

̽��ֱ��team’s underlying sensor technology intellectual property has been protected via a patent application filed by Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s commercialisation arm.

“This is a fantastic example of Cambridge’s entrepreneurial clinicians, academics and their institutions working together with forward-looking funders to create a positive impact for markets, society and importantly patients,” said Dr Terry Parlett, Commercialisation Director at Cambridge Enterprise.

Adapted from a CUH press release.

Technology that could transform the future of hip replacement surgery is being pioneered by a team of experts in Cambridge.

SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images

Illustration of a human hip joint

Yes

Cambridge Children’s Hospital moves ahead as plans for new hospital approved by ministers

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:18:44 +0000

Plans for Cambridge Children’s Hospital can move ahead following the news that the Outline Business Case for the project has been signed off by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. ̽��ֱ��project has been given the green light to begin the detailed process of appointing a contractor, to build the ground-breaking new facility in 2026.

̽��ֱ��ministerial backing means that the Project’s Outline Business Case, the second stage of the business case process, has now been fully approved by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and HM Treasury. It was approved in principle in September 2023, subject to a capital affordability review by NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care’s Joint Investment Committee. That review took place in April 2024 and resulted in a recommendation to Ministers to endorse the decision.

In a show of further confidence in its plans, the Outline Business Case was signed off by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in August 2024. This approval recognises that the hospital will meet the needs of patients and staff across the East of England and that the project has the appropriate funding streams in place, to deliver the specialist children’s facility.

̽��ֱ��hospital is being co-designed with the help of children, young people, families and healthcare professionals across the region to ensure the new hospital will meet the needs of patients, families and staff.

Dr Rob Heuschkel, Clinical Lead for Physical Health at Cambridge Children’s Hospital said:

“We are absolutely delighted that we can now move forward to enter contracts with a construction partner, so we can finally start to see work happening on site.

“A huge amount of work has gone into finalising the designs and getting us to this point, and I want to thank our healthcare staff, young people and their families from across the region who have been contributing valuable feedback and helping us shape our plans, right from the very start.

“ ̽��ֱ��East of England is the only region in the UK without a specialist children’s hospital, and we look forward to changing that very soon.”

̽��ֱ��approval comes as a programme of groundworks preparing for the build was completed in July, and new access roads have now been installed where the new five-storey, 35,000sqm hospital will be located, opposite the Rosie Maternity Hospital, on Robinson Way and Dame Mary Archer Way.

In the coming weeks, people will be able to see hoardings installed around the site of Cambridge Children’s Hospital, the first hospital truly designed to bring mental and physical health care together for children and young people.

Dr Isobel Heyman, Clinical Lead for Mental Health at Cambridge Children’s Hospital said:

“This really is fantastic news and an exciting moment in our journey to build a truly integrated children’s hospital for the East of England.

“ ̽��ֱ��current model of mental health care is inadequate. Many children with physical ill-health also have significant mental health needs, and vice versa.

“Cambridge Children’s Hospital offers a solution. By delivering holistic care for children, young people, and their families, this not only reduces stigma, but the revolutionary model of care really does act as a blueprint for the NHS and the future of healthcare.”

̽��ֱ��fundraising Campaign for Cambridge Children’s Hospital has now passed the halfway mark and the project remains on track to meet its £100m philanthropy target.

̽��ֱ��hospital will also house a ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge research institute, focused on preventing childhood illness and early intervention across mental and physical healthcare.

Professor David Rowitch, Clinical Lead for Research at Cambridge Children’s Hospital said:

“By bringing clinicians and patients together with ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge investigators and industry partners, we aim to shift the medicine paradigm from traditional reactive approaches, to one based on early detection, precision intervention and disease prevention.

“Co-locating research efforts inside Cambridge Children’s Hospital will mean we can detect disease early or even prevent it altogether, personalise health care and prescribe treatments more appropriate for children and their individual health needs.

“We’ll also be able to foster collaborations to advance the power of advanced diagnostics, digital and telehealth technology to support healthcare professions from a distance, to deliver care closer to people’s homes, wherever they live in our region.”

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Children’s Hospital project is a partnership between Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

Work now continues on the final stage of the business case for Cambridge Children’s Hospital – the Full Business Case.

Major milestone for first specialist children’s hospital in the East of England.

A montage of concept designs for Cambridge Children's Hospital

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners

Artist's impression of Cambridge Children's Hospital.

Yes

New milestone for specialist children’s hospital in the East of England

ta385 — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 10:00:16 +0000

̽��ֱ��Project had its Outline Business Case approved in principle by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care on 29 September 2023. With this approval, which is subject to a review of the Project’s capital funding in April 2024, work can now commence on the Full Business Case for the Project.

̽��ֱ��hospital, which was awarded planning permission in March 2022, is being built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, but will care for children and young people across the whole of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

It will be the first hospital designed to truly provide mental and physical health care together, delivered by staff who are trained in both. While the hospital will be built in Cambridge it will act as a central hub, working with services all over the East of England to provide care and support for children who may never visit the hospital itself.

Dr Rob Heuschkel, Cambridge Children’s Hospital Clinical Lead for Physical Health said: “This is fantastic news for children across the East of England – the only region without a specialist children’s hospital.

“We know there is widespread support across the East of England for this Hospital – from children and their families to our regional colleagues and our regional MPs. Now is the time for us to all work together to turn our plans into reality. I can’t wait to get started on the next stage of this Project. “

̽��ֱ��government committed £100m to Cambridge Children’s Hospital in 2018, under the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership scheme, and the project is on track to meet its target of an additional £100m of philanthropy and fundraising.

Health Minister Lord Markham said: “We are investing in over 70 major new upgrades of NHS facilities across the country so patients can access high quality care in state-of-the-art hospitals, both now and in the years to come. I’m pleased Cambridge Children’s Hospital is now starting on the final stage of its business case with construction planned to begin next year.

“Backed by £100 million of government funding, this hospital will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England and will bring mental and physical healthcare services together to benefit thousands of young people.”

Dr Cathy Walsh, Cambridge Children’s Hospital Clinical Lead for Mental Health, said: “There’s a long way still to go but this is an exciting moment in our journey to building a truly integrated children’s hospital.

“Our young people urgently need a new type of care, delivered by staff who are trained in both mental and physical health care. Cambridge Children’s Hospital will completely transform the future of healthcare for children and their families from across this region.”

̽��ֱ��hospital will also house a ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge world-class research facility focussed on detecting and preventing childhood illness.

Professor David Rowitch, Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge Children’s Hospital Research Lead, said: “Cambridge Children’s Hospital will use cutting-edge innovations in genomic science to detect origins of physical and mental health conditions and develop a new model of preventive medicine in paediatrics. We will foster game-changing breakthroughs in life sciences research that will have an impact across the globe.

“Together we can detect childhood disease early or prevent it altogether, personalise health care and deliver it closer to home.”

Members of Cambridge Children’s Hospital Network, which is made up of children, young people and parents from across the region, have been a crucial part of designing the future hospital, and helping to shape how the facility might look and feel like.

Sarah Cobb, 19 from near Cambridge, has multiple disabilities and is visually impaired. She has been involved in the Project for a number of years. She said: “As someone with lifelong health conditions, who’s spent a lot of time in hospital as a child, a teenager and now a young adult, I’m delighted that Cambridge Children’s Hospital has reached this brilliant milestone.

“I feel really honoured to be part of such an inspirational project. This hospital means so much to me and will make such a difference to the mental and physical health of children and young people in future.”

Work continues on finalising the costs and remaining funding streams for this brand new hospital. We will now start developing the final stage of the business case for Cambridge Children’s Hospital’s– the Full Business Case.

Cambridge Children’s Hospital, which will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, has been given the green light to proceed to the final stage of its business case development. This means that pre-construction works can begin on the site of the new hospital, opposite the Rosie Maternity Hospital on Robinson Way, early next year.

Together we can detect childhood disease early or prevent it altogether, personalise health care and deliver it closer to home

David Rowitch

Artist's impression of the entrance to the future Cambridge Children’s Hospital

About Cambridge Children’s Hospital

Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first hospital designed to truly provide mental and physical health care together, delivered by staff who are trained in both.

It is the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, the only region in the UK without one.

̽��ֱ��hospital will fully integrate physical and mental healthcare services under one roof to provide a whole new way of caring for children and young people aged 0-19, including those with cancer.

Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be a national exemplar. Housing ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge research institutes focused on the prevention and early diagnosis of disease, the hospital will deliver game-changing advances in life sciences research.

̽��ֱ��hospital will be built on Europe’s leading life sciences campus, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and is being co-designed with the help of young people, families and healthcare professionals.

Established by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, the hospital is a partnership which brings together clinical expertise and world-leading knowledge.

̽��ֱ��Campaign for Cambridge Children’s Hospital, a partnership between Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), Head to Toe Charity and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge (CUDAR), is committed to raising £100 million from philanthropy and fundraising.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes