CANCER
THEME LEADS
Dr Quentin Campbell-Hewson
Dr Gail Halliday
LOCATION
Great North Children’s Hospital
CHILDREN’S CANCER
Despite improving survival rates, cancer is the leading cause of death in children and young people. The most common types of childhood cancer are:
- Acute leukaemias, diagnosed in 1 in 3 children with cancer
- Cancers of the brain and spinal cord, diagnosed in 1 in 4 children with cancer
In the UK, approximately 1,800 children aged 0 – 14 years are diagnosed with cancer each year. This number includes non-cancerous (benign) brain tumours. Childhood cancer differs significantly from adulthood cancer.
There is a growing need for technology to support children and young people with cancer, as well as to support health care professionals to provide optimal care.
THEME FOCUS
The Cancer theme has the following focus:
- Improve triage for children and young people undergoing treatment.
- Develop technologies that remotely monitor vital signs.
- Improve ways of securing and protecting devices that enter the body.
- Reduce infusion pump alarms while upholding safety standards.
- Improve integration and functionality of digital platforms used in healthcare.
“Children’s cancer treatment is clearly benefitting from innovative therapies and we are now exploring how innovative technologies can improve our patients’ quality of life.”
– DR GAIL HALLIDAY
THEME LEADS
DR QUENTIN CAMPBELL-HEWSON
Dr Quentin Campbell-Hewson is a Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle. Quentin leads the Chemotherapy Services, the Solid Tumour service, and the Early Phase Trial service.
Quentin jointly established and leads the INCLuDE network, which identifies children who need novel therapies for cancer and facilitates the delivery of clinical trials. Quentin is the Newcastle lead for the paediatric UK Paediatric Experimental Cancer Medicines Centre network and the European Innovative Therapies in Childhood Cancer network. Quentin is also the NIHR Clinical Research Network lead for the North of England and North Cumbria.
DR GAIL HALLIDAY
Dr Gail Halliday is a Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle.
