Professor Richard T. Bryan MBChB PhD MRCS FAcadTM

Professor Richard T Bryan

Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Centre
Professor in Urothelial Cancer Research

Contact details

Address
Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Robert Aitken Institute for Clinical Research
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Rik Bryan is a former clinical urologist, and now a full-time bladder cancer research academic. He is the Chief Investigator of the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP), the SELENIB clinical trial, and POUT-T. He is the Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Centre (BCRC) in the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. The BCRC has a particular interest in the proteomics, genomics and epigenomics of bladder cancer and related biomarkers, and novel agents, technologies and pathways.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Academy of Translational Medicine 2016
  • PhD in Medicine 2007
  • Membership of The Royal College of Surgeons of England 1999
  • MBChB 1995

Biography

Rik Bryan qualified in Medicine at the University of Birmingham and subsequently entered surgical training. After completing a PhD in bladder cancer biology he became a higher surgical trainee in Urology. After 4-years as a Specialist Registrar, Rik left clinical urology to assist with the set-up of the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP) in the Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Birmingham, and was then subsequently appointed as a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Cancer Sciences. Rik is now the Chief Investigator of BCPP, which incorporates the SELENIB clinical trial.

Rik has an interest in all aspects of bladder cancer research and directs the Bladder Cancer Research Centre (BCRC) with a focus on translation. The particular interests of the BCRC include cancer proteomics/genomics/epigenomics, urinary biomarkers, novel therapeutics/technologies/devices, and clinical and epidemiological research. Rik has a track record of publication in all of these areas.

The BCRC also has an interest in upper tract urothelial cancer, and Rik is the Chief Investigator of POUT-T, the translational study linked to the POUT trial.

Postgraduate supervision

  • Intercalated BMedSci
  • MRes
  • PhD

Research

  • Genomics and epigenomics, and associated biomarkers for non-invasive diagnosis and prognostication
  • Novel genomic platforms and approaches
  • Proteomics and urinary protein biomarkers
  • Novel therapeutics, technologies and devices and associated clinical trials
  • Tumour immunology and BCG mechanisms of action
  • Clinical, epidemiological and health economic research.

Aside from the research carried out at the University of Birmingham, the Bladder Cancer Group also has a number of important national and international collaborations with other bladder cancer investigators, including Professor Maurice Zeegers (Maastricht), Professor John Kelly (UCL), Professor Bart Kiemeney (Radboud), Professor Chris Probert (Liverpool), Dr Anne Kiltie (Oxford) and Professor Chas Bountra (Oxford).

Other activities

Aside from his bladder cancer research at the University of Birmingham, Rik also fulfils a number of other roles:

  • Member of the University of Birmingham’s Clinical Trials Oversight Committee (CTOC)
  • Member of the Bladder GeCIP, 100,000 Genomes Project
  • Trustee of the charity Action Bladder Cancer UK
  • Member of the T2 and Below Subgroup (TABS) of the NCRI Bladder & Renal Clinical Studies Group
  • Council Member and current Honorary Secretary of The Royal Society of Medicine Section of Urology
  • Member of the Trial Management Group of the Peri-Operative Chemotherapy versus Surveillance in Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer (POUT) trial
  • Member of the Trial Management Group of the Clinical Research Office of the Endourology Society (CROES) multicentre randomised trial of narrow band imaging-assisted transurethral resection (TURBT) versus conventional white light-assisted TURBT in primary non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

James, N, Pirrie, S, Liu, W, Catto, J, Jefferson, K, Patel, P, Hughes, A, Pope, A, Nanton, V, Mintz, HP, Knight, A, Gallagher, J & Bryan, RT 2024, 'Image directed redesign of bladder cancer treatment pathways: the BladderPath RCT', Health Technology Assessment, vol. 28, no. 42, pp. 1-65. https://doi.org/10.3310/DEHT5407

Birtle, A, Jones, R, Chester, J, Lewis, R, Biscombe, K, Johnson, M, Blacker, A, Bryan, R, Catto, JWF, Choudhury, A, Das, P, Jagdev, S, Powles, T, Wagstaff, J, Chung, KC, Cafferty, F & Hall, EC 2024, 'Improved Disease Free Survival With Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer: Final Results of the POUT Trial', Journal of Clinical Oncology . https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.23.01659

Sankin, A, Dave, P, Cherrill, L-R, Boucher, RH, Zeegers, MP, Cheng, KK, James, ND, Agalliu, I & Bryan, RT 2024, 'Low-grade urothelial carcinoma recurs at a tempo that naturally accelerates over time', Urology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2024.07.017

Kerzeli, IK, Kostakis, A, Türker, P, Malmström, P-U, Hemdan, T, Mezheyeuski, A, Ward, DG, Bryan, RT, Segersten, U, Lord, M & Mangsbo, SM 2023, 'Elevated levels of MMP12 sourced from macrophages are associated with poor prognosis in urothelial bladder cancer', BMC Cancer, vol. 23, no. 1, 605. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-11100-0

The BladderPath trial management group 2023, 'Properties of non-coding mutation hotspots as urinary biomarkers for bladder cancer detection', Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, 1060. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27675-4

SELENIB Investigators, Bryan, R, Pirrie, S, Abbotts, B, Maycock, S, During, V, Lewis, C, Grant, M, Bird, D, Devall, A, Wallace, DM, James, N, Billingham, L, Zeegers, M & Cheng, KK 2023, 'Selenium and Vitamin E for Prevention of Non–Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Recurrence and Progression: A Randomized Clinical Trial', JAMA network open, vol. 6, no. 10, e2337494. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.37494

Goel, A, Ward, DG, Noyvert, B, Yu, M, Gordon, NS, Abbotts, B, Colbourne, JK, Kissane, S, James, ND, Zeegers, MP, Cheng, KK, Cazier, J, Whalley, CM, Beggs, AD, Palles, C, Arnold, R & Bryan, RT 2022, 'Combined exome and transcriptome sequencing of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: associations between genomic changes, expression subtypes, and clinical outcomes', Genome medicine, vol. 14, no. 1, 59 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s13073-022-01056-4

Richters, A, Kiemeney, LALM, Mehra, N, Westgeest, HM, Birtle, A, Bryan, RT & Aben, KKH 2022, 'Evidence or prejudice? Critical re-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing overall survival after cisplatin versus carboplatin-based regimens in advanced urothelial carcinoma', Clinical Genitourinary Cancer, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. e346-e352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clgc.2021.12.017

Galesloot, TE, Grotenhuis, AJ, Kolev, D, Aben, KK, Bryan, RT, Catto, JWF, Cheng, KK, Conroy, S, Dyrskjøt, L, Fleshner, NE, James, ND, Lamy, P, Lindskrog, SV, Malats, N, Mengual, L, Verhaegh, G, Zeegers, MP, Kiemeney, LALM & Vermeulen, SH 2022, 'Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies novel genes associated with recurrence and progression in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer', European Urology Oncology, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 70-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euo.2021.07.001

BladderPath Trial Management Group 2022, 'Highly sensitive and specific detection of bladder cancer via targeted ultra-deep sequencing of urinary DNA', European Urology Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euo.2022.03.005

Editorial

Mintz, HP, Dosanjh, ARS, Parsons, H, Sydes, M, Bryan, RT, James, ND & Patel, P 2023, 'Making administrative healthcare systems clinical data the future of clinical trials: lessons from BladderPath', BMJ Oncology, vol. 2, no. 1, e000038. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjonc-2023-000038

Review article

Nanton, V, Bryan, R, Pope, A, Hughes, A, Jefferson, K, Catto, J, Knight, A, Gallagher, J, Mintz, H, Pirrie, S, Liu, W, Young, A, Patel, P & James, N 2023, 'Boosting and broadening recruitment to UK cancer trials: towards a blueprint for action', BMJ Oncology, vol. 2, no. 1, e000092. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjonc-2023-000092

Toren, P, Wilkins, A, Patel, K, Burley, A, Gris, T, Kockelbergh, R, Lodhi, T, Choudhury, A & Bryan, RT 2023, 'The sex gap in bladder cancer survival: a missing link in bladder cancer care?', Nature reviews. Urology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-023-00806-2

Unsworth-White, S, Kitchen, M & Bryan, R 2022, 'Immunotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: from the origins of BCG to novel therapies', Future Oncology, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 105-115. https://doi.org/10.2217/fon-2021-0781

Ward, K, Kitchen, M, Mathias, S-J, Khanim, F & Bryan, R 2022, 'Novel intravesical therapeutics in the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: horizon scanning', Frontiers in Surgery, vol. 9, 912438. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2022.912438

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Bladder Cancer