Professor receives Lifetime Achievement Award for bladder and prostate cancer research

Professor James Catto, Consultant Urological Surgeon at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Professor at the University of Sheffield received the prestigious award in recognition of his longstanding and important contribution to urological practice and care.

Professor Catto’s remarkable career and research spans 20 years, and includes a long tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the EAU’s European Journal, a post he has held since 2014.

The eminent consultant urological surgeon is based at one of the largest urological surgery units in the country, at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, and played a leading role in bringing revolutionary robotic surgery to South Yorkshire. This has enabled specially trained surgeons to perform thousands of less invasive cancer surgeries on patients from across the region since the Da Vinci Si robot was installed in 2013, and a second robot in 2019.

Throughout his career Professor Catto has made a significant difference to the lives of many people living with urological conditions affecting the kidney, prostate, and bladder through his innovative research. He runs an academic centre for urological research at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital investigating the biology and management of urological cancers. Since it was established in 1999, the Department has helped raise over £30 million to fund vital research to improve the diagnosis, care and treatment of patients who suffer with distressing and sometimes life-threatening urological conditions.

Other work includes helping to design the national ‘Be Clear on Cancer Blood in Pee’ campaign. The campaign was rolled out nationally in 2013-14 and again in 2016 and 2018, and used everyday language to help people feel more comfortable when discussing symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer with their GP.

Most recently he was awarded funding for a new study pioneering the use of at-home urine self-testing kits to see if bladder cancer can be spotted before it becomes symptomatic. The study, which will involve urine self-testing kits being sent out to 3,000 men aged between 65 and 80 in the Yorkshire region, could save lives by providing people with access to a simple diagnostic test they can complete in the comfort of their own homes. Another research project has led to the development of high quality patient information booklets for bladder cancer.

Advancing bladder cancer care through the study of biochemical structures and molecular processes within cells, including DNA replication, has been another key focus, and he is currently chief investigator of a trial comparing standard care with personalised treatments targeting specific gene variants in patients having radical bladder cancer surgery.

Professor Catto also works to improve care from the patient’s perspective. He is a trustee of Weston Park Cancer Charity and Fight Bladder Cancer UK, and runs a series of regional patient experience surveys. His leadership as Editor-in-Chief at the EAU has been widely praised.

He said: “This award was a great honour. It reflects work produced by the whole team in Sheffield and the European Urology journal. I hope this is the start of many more exciting years of progress. I would like to thank all those who have helped, not least my wife Kirsteen, who has always supported me and worked far harder running our family.”

The EAU is one of the world’s largest urological associations, and has been at the forefront of scientific and educational innovation for the past 50 years.