Celebrations for Nick after cancer trial success

A NORTH East furniture maker who was the first recruit on a groundbreaking cancer trial has celebrated the results 11 years after signing up.

- DANIEL HALL

Nick James, from Gosforth, signed up to the trial in 2014, which set out to explore if taking a low daily dose of aspirin (also known as baby aspirin) could reduce bowel cancer risk in people with Lynch syndrome.

Nick underwent genetic testing after his mum died from cancer and other family members were diagnosed with bowel cancer, with his results showing that he was a carrier for a faulty gene which causes Lynch Syndrome. NHS England estimates that one in 400 people in England have the rare syndrome, equivalent to around 175,000 people.

The syndrome can substantially increase the risk of bowel cancer and other types of cancer, including womb, ovarian and prostate cancer.

Furniture designer Nick decided to take part in the Cancer Prevention Project 3 (CaPP3) trial after meeting Professor Sir John Burn from the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University. The CaPP3 trial has found that a daily dose of 75-100mg works just as well as previously tested higher doses in cutting bowel cancer risk in people with Lynch syndrome.