One achievement which makes me most proud is having set up a clinic at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust for patients with Salivary Gland Cancer. This Salivary Gland Cancer clinic is integrated with leading researchers at the CRUK Manchester Institute, The University of Manchester, the Experimental Cancer Medicine Team and the Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Team.
Through this clinic, patients with Salivary Gland Caner have the opportunity to be involved in research incorporating both tumour profiling and new drug therapies. This is a unique clinic focussed on developing new drug treatments for Salivary Gland Cancer.
Patients often ask what motivated me set up a clinic for such a rare disease. In 2012 - 2016 I studied for my PhD in the Lab of Prof Caroline Dive at the CRUK Manchester Institute, which was focussed on lung cancer. However, I identified that in Manchester there was a real opportunity for this same research to benefit patients with Head and Neck Cancers. In 2016/17 I set up a Medical Oncology practice connecting the Head and Neck Caner and Experimental Cancer Medicine Teams at The Christie. Within this clinic, it soon became obvious that the greatest unmet need was for patients with Salivary Gland Cancers where there have been very few effective drug treatments discovered in the last 50 years.
With the support of the Head and Neck Cancer clinical community across the UK, this has become a real success. Seeing 2 new patients per week, we have moved clinic space twice to increase our capacity and now take pride of place in the new Clinical Research Facility at The Christie.
It is the direct link to the patients through this clinic that still motivates me to develop a laboratory research program and clinical trial portfolio for Salivary Gland Cancer with the aim of developing new treatments. It is only possible to do this because I am part of a large and successful research and clinical programme in the CRUK Manchester Institute/University of Manchester, and the Head and Neck and Experimental Cancer Medicine Teams at The Christie.
Dr Metcalf is an Honorary Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Clinician Scientist at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. He leads the Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology Services at The Christie NHS.