Harborough Man Joins Ground-Breaking Cancer Prevention Trial

A Market Harborough man is one of the first people to take part in a ground-breaking trial to see if a chemical found in wine can help prevent bowel cancer.

David Trusler, 66, was diagnosed with bowel eleven years ago after watching a TV advert encouraging men to get checked and had surgery to remove his prostate.

He has been taking part in the NHS Bowel Screening programme since 2018 and had returned normal results until recently June of this year, when a test found an abnormal result and he was invited for a colonoscopy.

David was relieved to find out doctors had not found cancer but discovered two large polyps, which could become cancer in the future.

It was at that point that he was invited to join the Cancer Research UK-funded COLO-PREVENT trial, being led by scientists at the University of Leicester and supported by Kettering General Hospital.

The study will explore if the chemical Resveratrol, mostly found in red grapes – and products made from red grapes, such as wine and juice – can help prevent bowel cancer, after positive results in tests so far.

The trial has been hailed as a “unique experiment” that could have “big implications” for people at risk of the disease.

David told HFM he has joined the trial to give something back to the NHS and because he lost his Dad to bowel cancer when he was 17:

David Trusler

Previous studies led by Professor Karen Brown at the University of Leicester have found that purified Resveratrol can inhibit the growth of cancer cells in small doses.

This clinical trial, and previous research it is based on that has been carried out over 20 years and uses purified Resveratrol and not red wine, as drinking wine does not prevent cancer.

Professor Brown spoke to HFM:

Consultant Gastroenterologist at Kettering General Hospital and chief investigator of the COLO-PREVENT trial, Dr Ajay Verma, added: “The holy grail of cancer care is cancer prevention. The COLO-PREVENT study is an exciting new way to test cancer prevention in a much wider group of people, for a cancer which claims thousands of lives every year.

“Aspirin and metformin are well-established drugs but they have never been tested with people who’ve taken part in the Bowel Screening programme. Resveratrol is newer and, thanks to the work of Karen’s team in Leicester, is now a viable candidate prevention drug for clinical trials.

“I’m delighted to welcome our first participants to COLO-PREVENT. This trial could change how we manage patients with polyps detected through bowel cancer screening and potentially reduce the number which become cancer in the future.”