Dr Tim Rattay

Dr Tim Rattay is Associate Professor in Breast Surgery at the University of Leicester Cancer Research Centre and Honorary Consultant Breast Surgeon at the Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester, one of the largest volume breast cancer centres in the UK.  After core surgical training in the West Midlands and a Medical Education Fellowship at the University of Warwick, Dr Rattay entered the NIHR joint clinical-academic training programme in the East Midlands Deanery.  He obtained an NIHR-funded Doctoral Research Fellowship, leading to the award of a PhD in the field of cancer survivorship and predictors of treatment side-effects.  He completed his clinical training as NIHR Clinical Lecturer conducting research into predictors and biomarkers of patient outcomes in breast cancer treatment. 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, accounting for over 50,000 new cases per year. Thankfully, the vast majority of breast cancers are treatable. Approximately 800,000 women previously diagnosed with breast cancer were estimated to be alive in the UK in 2020 - a figure predicted to rise to over 1.2 million by 2030. Surgery and radiotherapy are the most commonly used breast cancer treatments. However about 1 in 5 patients will experience moderate to severe side-effects (toxicity) from treatment.

Dr Rattay's main research interests are in the prediction and reduction of adverse outcomes in breast cancer treatment.  His research is focused on validating clinical and molecular predictors of toxicity as well as discovering new predictors through genome-wide association studies, and Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches, and he is also interested in applying qualitative research methodology to explore breast cancer survivors’ views and experience of treatment and personalised medicine.  He works in a multi-disciplinary research team with surgeons, oncologists, nurses, clinical psychologists, geneticists, radiographers and medical physicists.  Currently, he is co-investigator in the EU-funded PRE-ACT study which seeks to develop and implement an AI tool to inform breast cancer patients of their risk of arm lymphoedema following nodal radiotherapy.

Dr Rattay previously worked on the EU-funded REQUITE study and was the local principal investigator for the ERA-funded RADprecise study.  Other previous and current sources of funding include the National Institute for Health and care Research (NIHR), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Global Challenge Network+ in Advanced Radiotherapy, and the Association of Breast Surgery.

Large-scale meta-genome-wide association study reveals common genetic factors linked to radiation-induced acute toxicities across cancer types.
Naderi E, Aguado-Barrera ME, Schack LMH, Dorling L, Rattay T, Fachal L, Summersgill H, Martínez-Calvo L, Welsh C, Dudding T, Odding Y, Varela-Pazos A, Jena R, Thomson DJ, Steenbakkers RJHM, Dennis J, Lobato-Busto R, Alsner J, Ness A, Nutting C, Gómez-Caamaño A, Eriksen JG, Thomas SJ, Bates AM, Webb AJ, Choudhury A, Rosenstein BS, Taboada-Valladares B, Herskind C, Azria D, Dearnaley DP, de Ruysscher D, Sperk E, Hall E, Stobart H, Chang-Claude J, De Ruyck K, Veldeman L, Altabas M, De Santis MC, Farcy-Jacquet MP, Veldwijk MR, Sydes MR, Parliament M, Usmani N, Burnet NG, Seibold P, Symonds RP, Elliott RM, Bultijnck R, Gutiérrez-Enríquez S, Mollà M, Gulliford SL, Green S, Rancati T, Reyes V, Carballo A, Peleteiro P, Sosa-Fajardo P, Parker C, Fonteyne V, Johnson K, Lambrecht M, Vanneste B, Valdagni R, Giraldo A, Ramos M, Diergaarde B, Liu G, Leal SM, Chua MLK, Pring M, Overgaard J, Cascallar-Caneda LM, Duprez F, Talbot CJ, Barnett GC, Dunning AM, Vega A, Andreassen CN, Langendijk JA, West CML, Alizadeh BZ, Kerns SL; Radiogenomics Consortium. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2023 Oct 31;7(6):pkad088. doi: 10.1093/jncics/pkad088. PMID: 37862240

Contouring variation affects estimates of normal tissue complication probability for breast fibrosis after radiotherapy.
Jaikuna T, Osorio EV, Azria D, Chang-Claude J, De Santis MC, Gutiérrez-Enríquez S, van Herk M, Hoskin P, Lambrecht M, Lingard Z, Seibold P, Seoane A, Sperk E, Symonds RP, Talbot CJ, Rancati T, Rattay T, Reyes V, Rosenstein BS, de Ruysscher D, Vega A, Veldeman L, Webb A, West CML, Aznar MC. Breast. 2023 Sep 11;72:103578. doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2023.103578. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37713940

Genome-wide association study of treatment-related toxicity two years following radiotherapy for breast cancer.
Jandu HK, Veal CD, Fachal L, Luccarini C, Aguado-Barrera ME, Altabas M, Azria D, Baten A, Bourgier C, Bultijnck R, Colciago RR, Farcy-Jacquet MP, Chang-Claude J, Choudhury A, Dunning A, Elliott RM, Green S, Gutiérrez-Enríquez S, Herskind C, Lambrecht M, Monten C, Rancati T, Reyes V, Rosenstein BS, De Ruysscher D, Carmen De Santis M, Seibold P, Sperk E, Veldwijk M, Paul Symonds R, Stobart H, Taboada-Valladares B, Vega A, Veldeman L, Webb AJ, Weltens C, West CM, Rattay T, Talbot CJ; REQUITE consortium. Radiother Oncol. 2023 Oct;187:109806. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2023.109806. Epub 2023 Jul 10.PMID: 37437607

(Pre)treatment risk factors for late fatigue and fatigue trajectories following radiotherapy for breast cancer.
Rosas JC, Aguado-Barrera ME, Azria D, Briers E, Elliott R, Farcy-Jacquet MP, Giraldo A, Gutiérrez-Enríquez S, Rancati T, Rattay T, Reyes V, Rosenstein B, De Ruysscher D, Sperk E, Stobart H, Talbot C, Vega A, Taboada-Valladares B, Veldeman L, Ward T, Webb A, West C, Chang-Claude J, Seibold P; REQUITE Consortium. Int J Cancer. 2023 Nov 1;153(9):1579-1591. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34640. Epub 2023 Jul 5.PMID: 37403702

Bridging pre-surgical endocrine therapy for breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the B-MaP-C study.
Dave RV, Elsberger B, Taxiarchi VP, Gandhi A, Kirwan CC, Kim B, Camacho EM, Coles CE, Copson E, Courtney A, Horgan K, Fairbrother P, Holcombe C, Kirkham JJ, Leff DR, McIntosh SA, O'Connell R, Pardo R, Potter S, Rattay T, Sharma N, Vidya R, Cutress RI; B-MaP-C study collaborative. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023 Jun;199(2):265-279. doi: 10.1007/s10549-023-06893-4. Epub 2023 Apr 3. PMID: 37010651

High weekly integral dose and larger fraction size increase risk of fatigue and worsening of functional outcomes following radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.
Joseph N, Cicchetti A, McWilliam A, Webb A, Seibold P, Fiorino C, Cozzarini C, Veldeman L, Bultijnck R, Fonteyne V, Talbot CJ, Symonds PR, Johnson K, Rattay T, Lambrecht M, Haustermans K, De Meerleer G, Elliott RM, Sperk E, Herskind C, Veldwijk M, Avuzzi B, Giandini T, Valdagni R, Azria D, Jacquet MF, Charissoux M, Vega A, Aguado-Barrera ME, Gómez-Caamaño A, Franco P, Garibaldi E, Girelli G, Iotti C, Vavassori V, Chang-Claude J, West CML, Rancati T, Choudhury A. Front Oncol. 2022 Oct 26;12:937934. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.937934. eCollection 2022.PMID: 36387203

Identifying research priorities in breast cancer surgery: a UK priority setting partnership with the James Lind Alliance.
Potter S, Fairhurst K, Cowan K, Vincent S, Lewis I, Cutress RI, Stobart H, Fairbrother P, Turner S, Davies-Crowley K, Jeevan R, Rattay T, O'Connell R, Bundred N, McIntosh SA. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023 Jan;197(1):39-49. doi: 10.1007/s10549-022-06756-4. Epub 2022 Nov 1. PMID: 36319906

Treatment time and circadian genotype interact to influence radiotherapy side-effects. A prospective European validation study using the REQUITE cohort.
Webb AJ, Harper E, Rattay T, Aguado-Barrera ME, Azria D, Bourgier C, Brengues M, Briers E, Bultijnck R, Chang-Claude J, Choudhury A, Cicchetti A, De Ruysscher D, De Santis MC, Dunning AM, Elliott RM, Fachal L, Gómez-Caamaño A, Gutiérrez-Enríquez S, Johnson K, Lobato-Busto R, Kerns SL, Post G, Rancati T, Reyes V, Rosenstein BS, Seibold P, Seoane A, Sosa-Fajardo P, Sperk E, Taboada-Valladares B, Valdagni R, Vega A, Veldeman L, Ward T, West CM, Symonds RP, Talbot CJ; REQUITE Consortium. EBioMedicine. 2022 Oct;84:104269. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104269. Epub 2022 Sep 18.

No Association Between Polygenic Risk Scores for Cancer and Development of Radiation Therapy Toxicity.
Barnett GC, Kerns SL, Dorling L, Fachal L, Aguado-Barrera ME, Martínez-Calvo L, Jandu HK, Welsh C, Tyrer J, Coles CE, Haviland JS, Parker C, Gómez-Caamaño A, Calvo-Crespo P, Sosa-Fajardo P, Burnet NG, Summersgill H, Webb A, De Ruysscher D, Seibold P, Chang-Claude J, Talbot CJ, Rattay T, Parliament M, De Ruyck K, Rosenstein BS, Pharoah PDP, Dunning AM, Vega A, West CML; RGC and REQUITE Consortia. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2022 Nov 1;114(3):494-501. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.06.098. Epub 2022 Jul 15.

A data science approach for early-stage prediction of Patient's susceptibility to acute side effects of advanced radiotherapy.
M Aldraimli, D Soria, D Grishchuck, S Ingram, R Lyon, A Mistry, J Oliveira, R Samuel, LEA Shelley, S Osman, MV Dwek, D Azria, J Chang-Claude, S Gutiérrez-Enríquez, MC De Santis, BS Rosenstein, D De Ruysscher, E Sperk, RP Symonds, H Stobart, A Vega, L Veldeman, A Webb, CJ Talbot, CM West, T Rattay and TJ Chaussalet. Computers in Biology and Medicine. 2021 Aug;135:104624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104624

Development of a method for generating SNP interaction-aware polygenic risk scores for radiotherapy toxicity.
NR Franco, MC Massi, F Ieva, A Manzoni, AM Paganoni, P Zunino, L Veldeman, P Ost, V Fonteyne, CJ Talbot, T Rattay, A Webb, K Johnson, M Lambrecht, K Haustermans, G De Meerleer, D de Ruysscher, B Vanneste, E Van Limbergen, A Choudhury, RM Elliott, E Sperk, MR Veldwijk, C Herskind, B Avuzzi, B Noris Chiorda, R Valdagni, D Azria, MP Farcy-Jacquet, M Brengues, BS Rosenstein, RG Stock, A Vega, ME Aguado-Barrera, P Sosa-Fajardo, AM Dunning, L Fachal, SL Kerns, D Payne, J Chang-Claude, P Seibold, CML West and T Rancati. Radiotherapy and Oncology 2021 Jun;159:241-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2021.03.024

External validation of a predictive model for acute skin radiation toxicity in the REQUITE breast cohort.
T Rattay, P Seibold, ME Aguado-Barrera, M Altabas, D Azria, GC Barnett, R Bultijnck, J Chang-Claude, A Choudhury, CE Coles, AM Dunning, RM Elliott, MP Farcy-Jacquet, S Gutiérrez-Enríquez, K Johnson, A Müller, G Post, T Rancati, V Reyes, BS Rosenstein, D De Ruysscher, MC de Santis, E Sperk, H Stobart, RP Symonds, B Taboada-Valladares, A Vega, L Veldeman, AJ Webb, CM West, R Valdagni and CJ Talbot. Frontiers in Oncology 2020 Oct 30;10:575909. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.575909

REQUITE: A prospective multicentre cohort study of patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast, lung or prostate cancer.
P Seibold, A Webb, ME Aguado-Barrera, D Azria, C Bourgier, M Brengues, E Briers, R Bultijnck, P Calvo-Crespo, A Carballo, A Choudhury, A Cicchetti, J Claßen, E Delmastro, AM Dunning, RM Elliott, L Fachal, MP Farcy-Jacquet, P Gabriele, E Garibaldi, A Gómez-Caamaño, S Gutiérrez-Enríquez, DS Higginson, K Johnson, R Lobato-Busto, M Mollà, A Müller, D Payne, P Peleteiro, G Post, T Rancati, T Rattay, V Reyes, BS Rosenstein, D De Ruysscher, MC De Santis, J Schäfer, T Schnabel, E Sperk, RP Symonds, H Stobart, B Taboada-Valladares, CJ Talbot, R Valdagni, A Vega, L Veldeman, T Ward, C Weißenberger, CML West and J Chang-Claude: REQUITE consortium. Radiotherapy and Oncology 2019 Sep;138:59-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2019.04.034

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study.
RL O'Connell, T Rattay, RV Dave, A Trickey, J Skillman, NLP Barnes, M Gardiner, A Harnett, S Potter and C Holcombe. British Journal of Cancer. 2019 Apr;120(9):883-895. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-019-0438-1

Genetic variants predict optimal timing of radiotherapy to reduce side-effects in breast cancer patients.
K Johnson, J Chang-Claude, AM Critchley, C Kyriacou, S Lavers, T Rattay, P Seibold, A Webb, C West, RP Symonds and CJ Talbot. Clinical Oncology (R Coll Radiol). 2019 Jan;31(1):9-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clon.2018.10.001

The patient perspective on radiogenomics testing for breast radiation toxicity.
T Rattay, RP Symonds, S Shokuhi, CJ Talbot and JB Schnur. Clinical Oncology (R Coll Radiol). 2018 Mar;30(3):151-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clon.2017.12.001

Dr Rattay supervises projects in the areas of:

• Prediction of treatment toxicity in the breast using clinical and molecular markers
• Radiogenomics
• Breast surgery and reconstruction
• Exploring patients’ views on breast cancer treatments

Dr Rattay teaches modules in the subjects of:

• MBChB Medicine
• MSc Cancer Molecular Pathology and Therapeutics
• BSc Clinical Sciences

• Breast cancer
• Surgery
• Radiotherapy
• Radiogenomics

Dr Rattay was previously Associate Specialty Study Lead for Breast at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and a member of the Mammary Fold Academic & Research Committee.  He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and a Member of the Association of Breast Surgery, British Association of Surgical Oncology, and the International Radiogenomics Consortium.

• BSc (Hons), University of Bristol
• MBChB, University of Bristol
• MMedEd, University of Warwick
• MRes, University of Leicester
• PhD, University of Leicester
• FRCS, Royal College of Surgeons of England