Establishing Ovarian Cancer Action
Building on the ideas generated at the HHMT Forum Allyson Kaye MBE, Helene's daughter, founded Ovarian Cancer Action in 2005 to raise awareness and accelerate progress in ovarian cancer research.
In 2006, Ovarian Cancer Action established Europe's first dedicated ovarian cancer research centre at Imperial College, London. As a charity, we have since funded over £12million into research to transform survival rates for women affected by the disease.
Global research direction
Since the 1980s, the HHMT Forum has set global research direction, publishing six books which have been the first point of reference for ovarian cancer specialists - and remain on many bookshelves today.
More recently, papers co-authored by the delegates setting our global research priorities have been published in Nature Reviews Cancer.
The past papers from the 2011 and 2015 Forums have had over 1,700 citations combined.
Influencing research and clinical priorities
Shifting research focus
- Established and promoted the use of better cell lines (a defined population of cells that can be maintained in culture for an extended period of time) in research, making work in the lab more accurate when trialled in patients
- Shared better technologies and techniques in early diagnosis and treatment research.
- Promoted working with pharmaceutical industry to create new treatments for ovarian cancer.
Changing clinical guidance
- Recommendations from the 2011 Forum influenced the way that ovarian cancer is classified by staging - E.G Stage 1.
Formal recognition of ovarian cancer symptoms in the UK
Results shared at the 2005 Forum on symptoms challenged the idea that ovarian cancer was a 'silent killer', giving Ovarian Cancer Action the evidence it needed to campaign for the UK Government to formally recognise the four main symptoms:
- Bloating
- Feeling full more quickly
- Needing to pee more frequently
- Tummy pain
This was hard-fought campaign which found success in 2009, with the symptoms officially recognised.
Global research collaborations
Key global collaborations have been born from connections made at HHMT Forums, such as the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium for Long Term Survival and the Cooperative Gynecologic Oncology Investigators group (COGI).
