Appliance of science leads Sir John Burn to honour

Feb 6 2010 by Hannah Davies, The Journal

HANNAH DAVIES speaks to the region’s Sir John Burn on why aspirin could be the modern wonder-drug, bringing the Centre of Life to the region and his beginnings in the coal trade.

John recalls: "They were delighted he had been diagnosed. Although there was nothing we could do to help their son’s condition, we could tell them they’d done nothing wrong and the condition was caused by pure chance." The couple recently wrote to John more than a decade after he made the diagnosis, to tell them how much he helped them.

Despite the success of his work, John became increasingly interested in curing people rather than just diagnosing people. "I found it frustrating I could tell the disease somebody had but I couldn’t help them," he says.

In the late 1980s John and his team began investigating cancer. They discovered a certain type of early-onset bowel cancer was caused by a genetic fault which meant, John explains: "In their teens people with this genetic defect get lots of polyps in their bowels, which then developed into cancer in their 20s.

"We discovered if doctors tested the relatives of people with this cancer for the defective gene, they could to see which family members had this gene and treat them before developing cancer."

It was this kind of disease prevention which John became very interested in during the 1990s. He expanded his trials further when he and colleagues gave adults who were likely to develop a form of cancer one of two types of pills.

The first group took a harmless placebo, the second took common aspirin.

John says: "At the end of the trail in 2008 there really didn’t seem to be any difference in the groups.

"But last year we saw those taking aspirin were developing fewer cancers."

He puts the figure on those who took the aspirin supplements at as much as 50% less than those who did not take them. A startling contrast.

"And now we’re looking at possible uses for aspirin in preventing all types of cancer."

John says more work needs to be done to look at these issues properly.

His genetics work has taken on a broader spectrum as well, best exhibited in Newcastle’s Centre For Life, for which he had the initial idea.

John explains: "I travelled down to Cambridge in 1994 with my daughter as she had an interview for the university.

"As part of the trip I visited the shed where James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA in 1953.

"I was shocked to see that all that marked the most important discovery in science for thousands of years was a small brass plaque."

Outraged as he was by this, it sparked off an idea in his head about a possible genetics centre in Newcastle.

"On the way back Danielle and I sketched out the idea for a Geneodome in Newcastle."

John envisaged it as a place for research to be carried out but also for the public to come and learn about the science of genetics.

With the backing of Alastair Balls and Linda Conlon from the Tyne and Wear development corporation, and science author Matt Ridley, proposals for the centre were approved by the Millennium Commission and the Centre for Life opened.

There are now 135 research staff at the centre, 17 professors and 140 NHS staff.

John heard in the New Year honours list that he was to be made a knight for his services to science. It is something he is proud of.

"It’s going to be a special day," he says, "and of course its an honour but I don’t think people will treat me any differently, certainly not in the North East.

"My wife is excited as well because apparently we might get upgrades on flights."

John’s band also takes up time, but enjoyable time, and their recent gig raised £500 for the Haiti relief effort.

But the legacy John hopes to leave is to develop his work with aspirin – similar to work he did in putting folic acid, which pregnant women take to prevent spina bifida in children, into bread.

He is looking at the ways aspirin, which is cheap and readily available, can be put safely into people’s diets for mass benefit.

"My main ambition now is to progress the aspirin cancer prevention story which could have great benefits for people’s health," he states.

"Then I can retire happy to spend more time with my grandchildren."