Nexxus Scotland

Cassidy, Jim

Chair of Medical Oncology at the Glasgow University Beatson Laboratories and Professor of Oncology at the Beatson Oncology Centre.

A graduate of Glasgow University, he has lectured in oncology at Edinburgh University and at Aberdeen University, where he was both Professor of Oncology and Honorary Consultant Oncologist to Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust.

In addition to his traditional medical training, Prof Cassidy holds a Masters degree in Pharmacology and held a Pharmacology Fellowship of the UK Cancer Research Campaign. He is also Clinical Editor of the British Journal of Cancer, and sits on the Phase I/II and the New Agents Committees of the UK Cancer Research Campaign.  

Now Chair of Medical Oncology at the University of Glasgow and world-famous Beatson Oncology Centre,  Prof Cassidy and his team have won accreditation as an approved co-ordinating centre for National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) clinical trials; one of only three accreditations granted across the UK this year.  

Prof Cassidy's concentration on the treatment of cancer patients has always been laced with the belief that "There must be more that science can offer patients. Let's see what we can achieve in the lab." Not content merely to deliver the best of contemporary medicine, his career has been characterised by a dedication to pushing back boundaries in both drug treatment and delivery. 

During a busy, early stage in his career Prof Cassidy opted to do an MSc in Pharmacology through evening study and developed for the first time an innovative drug delivery system in animals, capable of taking drugs directly to tumours incurable by any other means.

He was also heavily involved in the phase one trials of anti-sickness compounds, such as Ondansetron. These have had a massive effect on the field of oncology by significantly reducing the number of patients refusing treatment by removing the severity of some unpleasant side-effects.

Prof Cassidy says, "I am very proud to have been at the cutting edge of working with big pharmaceutical companies, to develop novel treatments from initial trials to registered product status". These include Capecitabine, an oral chemotherapy drug now licensed in the treatment of a range of cancers. 

Since February 2002, Prof Cassidy has been at the helm of the Beatson Oncology Centre and Chair of the West of Scotland Cancer Research Network.

Thanks to the eminence of his team and the quality of their work, the Beatson has been granted the highest possible Alpha star-rating by Cancer Research UK. In April 2005, in conjunction with ISD (Information Services Division) in Edinburgh, the team also became an approved co-ordinating centre for National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) clinical trials.

The Beatson Clinical Trials Unit has built up an enviable reputation over twenty years in phase 1 studies and the SCOTROC series of large scale randomised trials (Scottish Trials in Ovarian Cancer). Its influence now extends over a network of five major hospitals and is further supported by the umbrella organisation, Glasgow Biomedicine, which is a NHS Greater Glasgow/University of Glasgow joint initiative.    

Prof Cassidy says, "It is a source of great satisfaction that we are able to work here with some of the best clinicians and scientists in the world, bringing faster patient benefits to the West of Scotland and worldwide."

Prof Cassidy points out that the Beatson network in the West of Scotland, which includes the world-renowned Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, contains the largest critical mass of scientists working in oncology in the UK, outside of London. The facilities at their disposal are also at a hugely exciting phase, through the current development of the new Beatson Oncology Centre at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow. This state-of-the-art clinical facility, due to be completed in 2007 lays claim to being the best and most modern in the world.  

Current and ongoing projects involve researching the behaviour and treatment of some tumours currently considered drug-resistant.  

The team is working with Telomerase, an enzyme which influences the "internal clock" of cancer cells; causing them to self-destruct. Prof Cassidy's team is also working on innovative treatments which influence the methylation of DNA, which could make some drug-resistant cancers more receptive to chemotherapy.  

Prof Cassidy says, "Our NCRI accreditation now allows us to take a lead in Scotland, and our tie-up with ISD in Edinburgh allows us to share valuable expertise from early stage clinical trials right through to later stage drug development."

"This is a hugely exciting time for the Beatson team and, although we draw down expertise from all over the world, I can't imagine anywhere else I would rather be working."     

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