Top cancer expert joins research centre team

A WORLD-RENOWNED cancer specialist whose work has helped save thousands of lives has joined a top research centre in South Yorkshire.

Professor Thomas Helleday will help develop new advances in cancer treatment at the University of Sheffield.

He has joined the university’s Department of Oncology and Metabolism from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Prof Helleday was previously based in Sheffield, where in 2005 he was involved in research which discovered a new treatment for breast cancer.

The discovery, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, was patented and licenced to the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Following clinical trials, the drug Lynparza has been shown to extend the lives of some people living with incurable breast cancer.

Prof Helleday said: “Being able to see that our early work in Sheffield now saves thousands of lives around the world is a fantastic experience.”

The University of Sheffield’s Prof Allan Pacey added: “We are delighted that Professor Helleday is returning to Sheffield to join the Department of Oncology and Metabolism.

“It’s a great pleasure to have someone of his talent on the team and this will certainly be a big boost for cancer research in Sheffield as well as the UK as a whole.”