Reducing morbidity and mortality from myeloma by earlier diagnosis using a rapid and simple blood test

骨髓瘤是一种骨髓浆细胞癌，会导致贫血、肾脏和骨骼损伤以及严重的免疫缺陷。在主要的癌症中，骨髓瘤是诊断延误最严重的，这导致了大量的发病率和早期死亡。在英国，在医院转诊前，初级保健的平均会诊次数为三次。在资源有限的中低收入国家，诊断是一个更大的问题。该项目的目的是开发一种简单、快速的血液检测方法，以加速骨髓瘤的诊断。该项目将包括测试开发、优化和评估，并将通过在分析开发方面的行业合作伙伴提供支持。在进入临床实践（在英国和非洲）的初步研究中测试该设备的最后项目阶段之前，它还将涉及临床样本的实验室分析。在临床实验室，与工业界一起，与临床医生合作，目标是为新测试产生一个证据基础，以便在更大规模的试验中采用，并走向商业化，以在不同的环境中实现患者受益。研究生研究员将学习跨学科技能，适用于广泛的科学领域和职业道路。

Myeloma is a cancer of bone marrow plasma cells that causes anaemia, kidney and skeletal damage and severe immunodeficiency. Of the major cancers, myeloma ranks worst for diagnostic delays and this causes substantial morbidity and early mortality. In the UK there are a median three consultations in primary care before hospital referral. Diagnosis is an even greater problem in low-middle income countries with limited resources. The aim of this project is to develop a simple, rapid blood test that can accelerate myeloma diagnosis. The project will include test development, optimisation and evaluation, which will be supported through placements with an industry partner who are experts in assay development. It will also involve laboratory analysis of clinical samples before moving onto the final project phase of testing the device in preliminary studies in clinical practice (in the UK and Africa). Working in a clinical laboratory, alongside industry and collaborating with clinicians, the goal is to generate an evidence-base for the new test for uptake in larger trials and towards commercialisation to achieve patient benefits in different settings. The post-graduate researcher will learn interdisciplinary skills that are applicable to a broad range of scientific fields and career pathways.