Colorectal cancer screening prevention endoscopy and early diagnosis project (COLO-SPEED)

Open Lab is involved in a ground-breaking cancer research and treatment project aiming to reverse the region’s high incidence and low survival rates of bowel cancer (also called colorectal cancer).

The Colorectal Cancer Screening Prevention Endoscopy and Early Diagnosis project, or COLO-SPEED, will see 18 regional NHS endoscopy units – from Whitehaven to Sunderland, and Northallerton to Cramlington (full list below) – recruiting up to 5,000 patients a year to help speed up research into the disease.

Open Lab will work with partners to develop a novel digital platform, which will provide a resource and tools to support the project that will be used to collect data, feedback results and deliver ongoing patients and public engagement.

Digital health applications will also be used to collect data, feedback results and deliver ongoing engagement.

COLO-SPEED will harness the enthusiasm of local endoscopy teams and build a long-term sustainable research infrastructure, using the patient contact point of endoscopy to develop a population-based “experimental platform”.

This will recruit patients into a wide range of colorectal cancer (CRC) research studies across the disease continuum, creating a unique, world-leading, resource for CRC screening, prevention and early diagnosis (SPED) research, delivering benefits to patients, the wider population and society of the NE.

COLO-SPEED will deliver a genuine 360-degree partnership with patients and public, putting them at the centre of prioritising, advising and informing CRC research and co-producing knowledge.