Peter Hall Research Group

Research in a Nutshell

The Edinburgh Cancer Informatics (ECi) Research Group works jointly with the Edinburgh Cancer Information Team based in the NHS Edinburgh Cancer Centre. It supports healthcare data analytical capabilities for NHS cancer services across South East Scotland and the CRUK Scotland Centre's research activities. Led by Professor Peter S Hall, the group brings together clinicians, researchers, and data scientists from the University of Edinburgh and NHS Scotland, working at the intersection of clinical practice and informatics to innovate and build rapid improvement cancer patient care.

The programme works closely with DataLoch, a linked health and social care data repository covering the South East Scotland population. This infrastructure enables cancer datasets to be linked with primary care, secondary care, and social care records, supporting research into treatment pathways, costs, long-term outcomes, and health inequalities at population scale. The programme is part of the UK Real-World Evidence Network (HERON-UK) operated by HDR UK, contributing to the adoption of the OMOP Common Data Model for standardised analysis across NHS sites. It is a key partner of DATA-CAN, the Health Data Research UK Hub for Cancer, and

Professor Hall serves as Data Lead for the CRUK Scotland Centre, a joint Edinburgh–Glasgow initiative supporting translational cancer research across the Scottish Cancer Research community. He also founded the Edinburgh Health Economics Group, and works closely with the Usher Institute.

The group's research covers economic evaluation of cancer interventions, the study of causality in cancer care pathways, the use of routine NHS data to measure costs and quality of care, measurement of the financial burden of cancer on patients and carers, and outcomes research in elderly and non-trial-eligible populations. The group developed and maintains the UK Cancer Costs Questionnaire for measuring economic endpoints in clinical studies.

The group organises an annual international Cost-Effectiveness Modelling course with the Universities of Leeds, Auckland, and Alberta. It also runs medical statistics training for Oncology Clinical trainees in Scotland.

• DATA-CAN (the health data research hub for cancer)
• NIHR Diagnostic Evidence Cooperative
• Precision Medicine Catapult
• National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE)
• NCRI Psychosocial and Survivorship Clinical Studies Group
• EORTC
• Scottish Medicines Consortium
• Scottish Molecular Pathology Evaluation Panel
• Edinburgh-St Andrews MRC Molecular Pathology Node
• Farr Institute
• Canadian Paceomics Programme

• 2013–2022 NIHR (Health Technology Assessment), £2 million  “Mammographic surveillance in breast cancer patients aged over 50 years” Mammo-50: A multi-centre, randomised, controlled, phase III trial of annual mammography versus 2 yearly for conservation surgery patients and 3 yearly for mastectomy patients.
• 2012–2019 Cancer Research UK (CTAAC), £500,000 Chemotherapy options for frail and elderly patients with advanced gastro-esophageal cancer: A UK Randomised controlled trial. (GO-2)
• 2013 – 2017 NIHR Diagnostics Evidence Co-operative £1m (Leeds – Cancer, Renal, Musculoskeletal and Liver diseases).
• 2013-16 Technology Strategy Board Small Business Research Initiative £1.8m, Development of a home monitoring device for neutropenia. Collaborator, in collaboration with Phillips.
• 2013-14 Technology Strategy Board Small Business Research Initiative £347,000, Detection and Identification of infectious agents: Assessing the impact of near patient testing. Network Tools for Intervention Modelling In Sepsis. Collaborator, in collaboration with X-Lab Systems Ltd.
• 2014-2016 NIHR Health Technology Assessment £176,842. The future for diagnostic tests for acute kidney injury in critical care: Evidence synthesis, care pathway analysis and research prioritisation “AKI-Diagnostics”
• 2014-2016 NIHR Research for Patient Benefit. In collaboration with the Christie Clinical Trials Unit). Randomised controlled trial of acupuncture plus standard care versus standard care for chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). “ACUFOCIN”
• 2014-2017 NIHR Research for Patient Benefit £250,000. A study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a phase III randomised controlled trial comparing stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) with surgery in patients with peripheral stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) considered to be at higher risk of complications from surgical resection. “SABRTOOTH”
• 2015-2018 MacMillan research grant £565,849. In collaboration with the University of Leeds. The use of comprehensive patient records (CPR) to define the impact of cancer, co-morbidities and late effects on individuals and the health service.
• 2015-2017 NHS England Research Innovation fund, £200,000 In partnership with Caris Life Sciences International. Pilot study to assess feasibility of tumour profiling for solid tumour cancer patients in the NHS.
• 2015 – 2020 Yorkshire Cancer Research. £1.5m A randomised controlled trial of the effect of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on survival after liver resection surgery for colorectal cancer metastasis (The EMT2 study).
• 2016-2017 Innovate UK SBRI. T-cell receptor diversity evaluation as a predictive biomarker of response to immunotherapy (In collaboration with ImmunID).