Impact case studies
The success of Manchester BRC is based on the lasting impact we make to improve people’s lives across our diverse communities.
The research we deliver will enable us to make real advances towards reducing health inequalities.
Read our impact case studies below to find out how we transformed scientific breakthroughs into diagnostic tests and life-saving treatments, delivering wide-ranging benefits to the health and care system.
Preventing antibiotic-induced hearing loss in babies
Approximately 1 in 500 babies carry a gene change that causes permanent deafness when given gentamicin, an antibiotic used to treat and prevent infection in babies in neonatal units.
Manchester researchers, working with a diagnostic company, genedrive plc, and supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, developed the world’s first rapid bedside genetic test, allowing doctors to give at risk babies an alternative effective antibiotic within the recommended one-hour timeframe. From a simple cheek swab a genetic result was generated in 26 minutes by neonatal nurses.
In 2020, the team trialled the test in a study called Pharmacogenetics to Avoid Loss of Hearing (PALOH) in over 750 babies in neonatal units in Manchester and Liverpool without delays to treatment. Importantly the test was acceptable to parents.
In April 2022, the test was introduced into three hospitals and now 3,500 babies have been tested. In March 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended its use within the NHS, and it is now being used for babies across England and internationally.
Every year the test could save the hearing of 180 babies in England alone, and save the NHS at least £5 million, by preventing hearing loss and reducing the need for interventions such as cochlear implants.
Industry partnership to develop first accurate Cough Monitor
Chronic coughing is estimated to affect 4-10 % of the UK population and significantly impacts quality of life. The development of effective therapies has been hampered by the lack of reliable tools for measuring cough.
With industrial partner Vitalograph, researchers from the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre developed the first accurate system to objectively measure coughing. Testing, validation and implementation was carried out by the NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility.
The VitaloJAK monitor allows semi-automated counting of the number of coughs in digital recordings over 24-hour periods. It is the only cough monitor to be used in global regulatory drug trials.
To date, the system has provided measurement of cough in 51 trials, with more than 20 million coughs counted.
The monitor was instrumental in the development of Gefapixant, the first therapy to be licensed for patients suffering from refractory chronic cough in the UK and European Union in 2023.
Read this news story to find out how the cough monitor has been used in a research study.
Screening endometrial cancer patients for Lynch syndrome
Researchers from the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre led a programme that identified a link between womb cancer and Lynch syndrome (LS), changing clinical practice across the UK.
LS is an inherited genetic condition that can significantly increase the risk of developing womb, bowel, and several other cancers. It affects around 1 in 300 people, with most unaware they have it.
The team conducted the first study of its kind in the UK that tested women diagnosed with womb cancer for LS, which showed that 3% had LS and defined the best strategy for identifying them.
Following this, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence commissioned an expert advisory group to assess the evidence. This resulted in a change in guidance in 2020 which recommended universal testing of all womb cancer patients for LS. This guideline means around 1,000 new people per year in the UK alone can benefit from cancer prevention strategies.
We are co-leading the National Lynch Syndrome Transformation Project with the NHS Cancer programme to ensure standardised testing protocols, equity of testing access, co-creation of patient information, and training for healthcare professionals.
In April 2024, the team were awarded the prestigious American Association for Cancer Research Team Science Award for their pioneering work on Lynch-syndrome associated endometrial cancer.
National roll-out of lung cancer screening model
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the UK, with approximately 30,000 annual deaths in England and Wales. 75% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatments are ineffective, and survival is round 6 months.
Lung cancer is more common in our most deprived communities and Manchester has more than double the national average of cases. Manchester’s Lung Health Checks (LHC) took lung cancer screening directly into communities using scanners located in vans parked at convenient locations including supermarket car parks.
Our pilot study of 2,541 people detected 1 lung cancer for every 23 people screened, with 80% at a potentially curable stage. Following the results of this research in Manchester, the UK National Screening Committee has now recommended the national adoption of lung cancer screening, with a government-funded national roll-out based on the Manchester LHC model.
This has the potential to save thousands of lives through early detection of lung cancer whilst also addressing a major driver of health inequality.
To date more than a million people have been invited for a LHC, with over 4,000 lung cancers detected by the programme, 75% at an early stage.