Wendy Atkin | |
---|---|
Born | Wendy Sheila Green 5 April 1947
London, England |
Died | 2 October 2018 | (aged 71)
Alma mater |
University of London (BPharm) Columbia University (MPH) University College London (PhD) |
Awards | Bengt Ihre Medal (2012) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Epidemiology |
Institutions |
St Mary's Hospital, London Imperial College London |
Thesis | Risk of subsequent colon and rectal cancer after removal of adenomas from the rectosigmoid (1991) |
Website |
imperial |
Wendy Sheila Atkin OBE FMedSci (née Green; 5 April 1947 – 2 October 2018) [1] [2] was Professor of Gastrointestinal Epidemiology at Imperial College London.
Aitken was born in London on 5 April 1947 to Gella (née Binder) and David Green. [3] She studied pharmacy at the University of London gaining a bachelor's degree in 1968. [1] [3] She studied public health at Columbia University, which she graduated in 1985 with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in 1984. [4] She joined University College London for her graduate studies, where she researched the long-term risk of colorectal cancer following the removal of adenomas and was awarded a PhD in 1991. [5] [4]
Atkin joined the Colorectal Cancer Unit at Cancer Research UK in St Mark's Hospital, and was made deputy director in 1997. [4] She was made a senior lecturer at Imperial College London in 1997, reader in 2000[ citation needed] and professor in 2004.[ citation needed]
From 1994 she worked with Jane Wardle on a trial of flexible sigmoidoscopy that included endoscopic examination of the colon, reporting that 40% of colorectal cancers could be prevented by this intervention. [6] [7] She compared the screening to a Faecal occult blood (FOB) test. [8] In 2008 she moved to St Mary's Hospital, London, where she established the Cancer Screening and Prevention Research Group. [4] The group researches bowel cancer and, ultimately, aims to reduce the number of people who die from the disease. [9] Their 2010 paper outlining the results of the UK Flexible Sigmoidoscopy Screening Trial was the most frequently cited paper in The Lancet that year. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] The landmark study was a randomised controlled trial of almost 400,000 adults across 14 areas in the UK. [16] [17] If there were any polyps, people were referred for a colonoscopy. [18] The strategy was rolled out by the UK National Screening Committee in 2011 and was expected to achieved complete population coverage in 2016. [19] [20] This was achieved with a £60 million investment from the UK government. It's estimated to prevent 5,000 cancer diagnoses and 3,000 deaths a year. [19] They found an increased risk in bowel polyps from eating red meat. [21] They examined the incidence and mortality for the following 17 years, finding that people involved in the screening had a 41% lower mortality. [22] [23] [24] The bowel cancer screening test BowelScope can prevent 35% of bowel cancers. [25] [26]
Atkin went on to create a Special Interest Group (SIG) on Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiologists 1 (SIGGAR1), which analysed the effectiveness of virtual colonoscopy. [27] [28] They found it was less invasive and more effective at finding precancerous polyps and bowel cancer. [29] She researched the optimum timing of surveillance strategies for people who were at high risk of bowel cancer. [29] Atkin established a patient-friendly process that would invite, screen and follow-up the whole population. [30] She found that patients at risk of developing bowel cancer benefitted significantly from a follow-up colonoscopy. [31] [32] [33]
She served as an expert advisor for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for Colonoscopic Surveillance. [4] She served on several advisory committees and boards. [13] She retired from Imperial College London in August 2018 and was made Emeritus Professor. [9] She died on 2 October 2018. [1] [2]
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Wendy Atkin | |
---|---|
Born | Wendy Sheila Green 5 April 1947
London, England |
Died | 2 October 2018 | (aged 71)
Alma mater |
University of London (BPharm) Columbia University (MPH) University College London (PhD) |
Awards | Bengt Ihre Medal (2012) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Epidemiology |
Institutions |
St Mary's Hospital, London Imperial College London |
Thesis | Risk of subsequent colon and rectal cancer after removal of adenomas from the rectosigmoid (1991) |
Website |
imperial |
Wendy Sheila Atkin OBE FMedSci (née Green; 5 April 1947 – 2 October 2018) [1] [2] was Professor of Gastrointestinal Epidemiology at Imperial College London.
Aitken was born in London on 5 April 1947 to Gella (née Binder) and David Green. [3] She studied pharmacy at the University of London gaining a bachelor's degree in 1968. [1] [3] She studied public health at Columbia University, which she graduated in 1985 with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in 1984. [4] She joined University College London for her graduate studies, where she researched the long-term risk of colorectal cancer following the removal of adenomas and was awarded a PhD in 1991. [5] [4]
Atkin joined the Colorectal Cancer Unit at Cancer Research UK in St Mark's Hospital, and was made deputy director in 1997. [4] She was made a senior lecturer at Imperial College London in 1997, reader in 2000[ citation needed] and professor in 2004.[ citation needed]
From 1994 she worked with Jane Wardle on a trial of flexible sigmoidoscopy that included endoscopic examination of the colon, reporting that 40% of colorectal cancers could be prevented by this intervention. [6] [7] She compared the screening to a Faecal occult blood (FOB) test. [8] In 2008 she moved to St Mary's Hospital, London, where she established the Cancer Screening and Prevention Research Group. [4] The group researches bowel cancer and, ultimately, aims to reduce the number of people who die from the disease. [9] Their 2010 paper outlining the results of the UK Flexible Sigmoidoscopy Screening Trial was the most frequently cited paper in The Lancet that year. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] The landmark study was a randomised controlled trial of almost 400,000 adults across 14 areas in the UK. [16] [17] If there were any polyps, people were referred for a colonoscopy. [18] The strategy was rolled out by the UK National Screening Committee in 2011 and was expected to achieved complete population coverage in 2016. [19] [20] This was achieved with a £60 million investment from the UK government. It's estimated to prevent 5,000 cancer diagnoses and 3,000 deaths a year. [19] They found an increased risk in bowel polyps from eating red meat. [21] They examined the incidence and mortality for the following 17 years, finding that people involved in the screening had a 41% lower mortality. [22] [23] [24] The bowel cancer screening test BowelScope can prevent 35% of bowel cancers. [25] [26]
Atkin went on to create a Special Interest Group (SIG) on Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiologists 1 (SIGGAR1), which analysed the effectiveness of virtual colonoscopy. [27] [28] They found it was less invasive and more effective at finding precancerous polyps and bowel cancer. [29] She researched the optimum timing of surveillance strategies for people who were at high risk of bowel cancer. [29] Atkin established a patient-friendly process that would invite, screen and follow-up the whole population. [30] She found that patients at risk of developing bowel cancer benefitted significantly from a follow-up colonoscopy. [31] [32] [33]
She served as an expert advisor for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for Colonoscopic Surveillance. [4] She served on several advisory committees and boards. [13] She retired from Imperial College London in August 2018 and was made Emeritus Professor. [9] She died on 2 October 2018. [1] [2]
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cite journal}}
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