Award winning cancer research

8 JULY 2025

York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity is thrilled to announce a consultant from York Hospital has received a national innovation award for her role in a groundbreaking study, which could complement cancer screening in the future.

The funding for the study was provided by the charity through the Elsie May Sykes and the study was supported through its development by the Trust’s Research and Innovation Department.

Jenny Piper, a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was named as one of the winners in The Medipex NHS Innovation Awards and Showcase 2025. The awards aim to shine a light on innovative ideas for new health technologies designed to deliver patient benefits and improve the healthcare service.

This was awarded alongside Dr Theo Issitt, from Respiro Diagnostics who developed the breath test and worked with Jenny on the study.

Miss Piper’s involvement on an innovative breath test to detect breast cancer early, won the showcase category for ‘Delivering Benefits through Diagnosis and Screening’.

In a pilot study at York Hospital, the breath test demonstrated a 98% accuracy rate in distinguishing between normal, benign, and cancerous breast tissues from breath samples. The device uses expelled air to detect chemical markers of cancer which may be in the breath.

Following future studies, it is this technology that could become a complementary tool for mammography, potentially reducing unnecessary referrals, as currently 8% of patients sent to breast clinics have cancer in York. The test is quick, painless, and provides results in a timely manner.

Alongside Dr Theo Issitt, Miss Piper collaborated on the research with Professor James Turvill, Consultant Gastroenterologist with the Trust, and Dr Kelly Redeker from the University of York.

Reflecting on her collaborative achievement, Miss Piper explained: “It’s great news for the Trust.  I have been receiving so many messages of congratulations from NHS colleagues all over the country. I’m very proud to have received the award.  I’d like to add it’s been a wonderful team effort, and this award is for every member of the team who has been involved. I’d also like to thank the York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity for making the research possible through their invaluable funding.”