The Haematological Malignancy Research Network

The group works in partnership with clinical and laboratory based colleagues across the University of York, as well as the Haematological Malignancy Research Network (HMRN) and the Haematological Malignancy Diagnostic Service (HMDS) based at St James's Institute of Oncology, Leeds. 

HMRN was established in 2004 to provide robust generalisable data to inform clinical practice and research. It is a collaboration between researchers in the ECSG, a unified Clinical Network operating across 14 hospitals, and an integrated HMDS.

Covering a population of around four million, HMRN collects detailed information about all patients diagnosed with a haematological malignancy within the HMRN region, accruing around 2,500 new diagnoses each year. HMRN’s catchment population has a similar socio-demographic profile to the country as a whole, and its maturing data present an increasingly valuable resource to address real questions of concern to researchers, clinicians and commissioners – locally, nationally and internationally.

Following diagnosis, patients are individually tracked, and full details of all treatments, responses and outcomes are collected to clinical trial standards. The comprehensive follow-up and routine linkage of diagnostic and prognostic data to information on outcome and treatment provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into aspects of haematological cancer that cannot be studied elsewhere.

HMRN is recognised world-wide as a major source of valuable population-based information. This need for real-world data has led to the establishment of several joint-working partnerships between University of York researchers and the pharmaceutical industry. The demand for this is particularly high in haemato-oncology, where the generalisability of findings from randomised controlled trials is limited by the fact that they tend to be restricted to commoner sub-types, specific patient groups (e.g. younger patients with fewer co-morbidities), specific timepoints (commonly first-line treatment), recruitment rates are low (five to 20 per cent depending on subtype), and trials of relapsed disease often lack comparators.

Nationally, findings from HMRN have been used within a cancer education platform targeting clinicians in primary care. This programme, which aims to improve cancer outcomes by supporting clinical decision making around earlier and faster diagnosis, whilst managing symptoms and enabling improved patient experience’ was developed in conjunction with CRUK.

More information on the impact and outcomes of the HMRN including their Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) can be found on their website (hmrn.org).

Funded by 

Cancer Research UK and Blood Cancer UK