A DOCTOR at Airedale Hospital could change the way ovarian cancer is treated after dedicating over 20 years to researching the disease.

Consultant Medical Oncologist Michael Crawford has found that patients with low levels of a chemical called CA125 in the blood (less than ten units per millilitre) have the most chance of survival.

And he says he has "unequivocally" extended the lives of some patients by up to 12 years by monitoring CA125 and determining the best treatment.

Some patients who were diagnosed with just a few months to live are still alive five years on.

Dr Crawford's findings were greeted favourably at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held this month in New Orleans.

The CA125 blood test to monitor the treatment of ovarian cancer had been used for the last 20 years.

It has been accepted that when the level reduces in the blood, the patient is doing well and when it becomes normal - less than 35 - the patient is doing very well.

Dr Crawford has been measuring CA125 for over 20 years and started monitoring 150 patients two years ago at Airedale Hospital, Steeton, with nurse Janet Peace.

He discovered that the 78 patients with exceptionally low levels of CA125 did the best.

To help confirm his findings he joined with the Scottish Gynaecological Cancer Trials Group, which monitored 558 patients. They found his trials were widely applicable.

His work will now help refine treatment in future research.

Dr Crawford, who lives in Bingley, said: "What we have said previously is to get patients below 35 units per millilitre, but additional information we have got from this piece of work shows that if we get it below 10 units, patients do even better - with some patients alive and well up to 12 years longer than expected.

"The reaction in America was quite favourable in that people accepted the findings - no-one disagreed with it. And doctors over there will be looking into it further.

"I believe unequivocally that we have extended the lives of some patients," added Dr Crawford.

"They are living five years after being told they had months to live by us monitoring and reacting to what we have found and giving further treatment.

"The important thing about it is that there is now a different way of thinking about cancer research.

"Airedale Hospital has helped to do important work to improve the way in which cancer can be treated."