Lifetime Achievement Award for Cancer Clinician

Professor Stan Kaye was today awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Prize by Cancer Research UK for his pioneering work in early-stage clinical trials and his contribution to improving treatments in ovarian cancer.  

Professor Stan Kaye

Kaye's career has seen him involved in the development of many cancer treatments, including olaparib for ovarian cancer as well as capecitabine and docetaxel chemotherapies for a range of cancers.   His career began in the 1970s as a Cancer Research Campaign clinical research fellow at Charing Cross Hospital, London. In 1985 Kaye became the head of the department of medical oncology at the University of Glasgow where he established a clinical trials unit; the following year he co-founded the Scottish Gynaecological Cancer Trials Group, which went on to conduct several key trials in ovarian cancer. During this time he made important contributions to the development and approval of two widely used drugs, capecitabine and docetaxel.   He moved to The Institute of Cancer Research, London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in 2000 where he established a dedicated Drug Development Unit which is one of the largest in the world and has been responsible for many phase I clinical trials, such as the first-in-man olaparib trial, as well as phase II trials in ovarian cancer.    The award will be presented to Professor Kaye at this year’s National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, UK, on Monday November 7.