Dr Arfon Powell
Wcat Fellow
- powella16@cardiff.ac.uk
- UHW Main Building
- Welsh speaking
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Wales Clinical Academic Track (WCAT) trainee in general surgery with a subspeciality interest in oesophagogastric cancer.
I undertook my pre-doctoral research training with Dr Joanne Edwards and Professors Paul Horgan and Donald McMillan at the University of Glasgow. Research studies looking at the relationship between cancer-related inflammation and genomic instablity culminated in the award of a PhD.
My current research looks at genomic and epigentic changes observed in patients with cancer-related inflammation and its influence on response to treatment and survival in patients with oesophagogastric cancer.
Biography
Education and qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Cancer Science, University of Glasgow, 2016
- Master of Science (MSc) in Surgical Science (Distinction), University of Edinburgh, 2011
- Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS), Edinburgh, 2009
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB), University of Aberdeen, 2007
Honours and awards
- Enid linder Award, University of Aberdeen - 2006
- Shepherd Memorial Medal in Surgery, University of Aberdeen - 2007
- Dukes Club/ACPGBI Prize, ASiT National Conference - 2011
- Publons Award - Top Reviewer in Medicine - 2017
- Publons Award - Top Reviewer in Clinical Medicine - 2018
- Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland - Poster Prize - 2018
- Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland - Poster prize - 2019
- Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland - Moynihan Medal - 2019
Professional memberships
- American Association of Cancer Research
- American College of Surgeons
- Association of Upper GI Surgeons
- British Association of Cancer Research
- European Society of Diseases of the Esophagus
- International Society of Diseases of the Esophagus
- Society of Academic and Research Surgery
- The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Academic positions
- 2010 - 2013: Clinical Research Fellowship, Department of Surgery, The University of Glasgow
Speaking engagements
Invited lectures
June 2019
- Systemic inflammation, chemotherapy response and survival in oesophageal cancer. DCG Seminar Series, Cardiff University, UK
April 2019
- Prognostic significance of cardiopulmonary excercise testing in oesophagogastric cancer. Wales Cancer Network - All Wales Oesophagogastric Cancer Conference, UK
- Compound level QA metrics in oesophagogastric cancer surgery. Wales Cancer Network - All Wales Oesophagogastric Cancer Conference, UK
December 2018
- Altmetric versus bibliometric perspective regarding publication impact and force. Presentation at the first AltMetricon, UK
January 2018
- Systemic inflammation, genomic instability, and survival in colorectal cancer. DCG Seminar Series, Cardiff University, UK
Committees and reviewing
Journal reviewer
- Annals of Surgical Oncology
- BMC Cancer
- British Journal of Cancer
- British Journal of Medicine
- British Journal of Surgery
- Cancer Medicine
- Histology and Histopathology
- International Journal of Surgery
- World Journal of Surgical Oncology
Publications
2022
- Mellor, K. et al. 2022. Prognostic significance of competition ratios in surgical specialty training selection. Postgraduate Medical Journal 98(1163), pp. 700-704. (10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139491)
- Luton, O. W. et al. 2022. Differential attainment in higher surgical training: scoping pan-specialty spectra. Postgraduate Medical Journal, article number: 141638. (10.1136/postgradmedj-2022-141638)
- James, O. P. et al. 2022. Strategic organisational skills predict surgical training success. Postgraduate Medical Journal 98(1155), pp. 29-34. (10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-138763)
- Robinson, D. B. T. et al. 2022. Trainee burnout: when does the fire start?. Postgraduate Medical Journal 98, pp. 124-130. (10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-137839)
2021
- Powell, A. G., Wheat, J. R., Eley, C., Robinson, D., Roberts, S. A. and Lewis, W. 2021. Economic cost-utility analysis of stage-directed gastric cancer treatment. BJS Open 5(6), article number: zrab129. (10.1093/bjsopen/zrab129)
- Robinson, D. B. T. et al. 2021. Trainee perspective of the causes of stress and burnout in surgical training: a qualitative study from Wales. BMJ Open 11(8), article number: e045150. (10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045150)
- Luton, O. W. et al. 2021. Enhanced stress-resilience training for surgical trainees. BJS Open 5(4), article number: zrab054. (10.1093/bjsopen/zrab054)
- Powell, A. G. M. T., Eley, C., Chin, C., Coxon, A. H., Christian, A. and Lewis, W. G. 2021. Prognostic significance of serum inflammatory markers in esophageal cancer. Esophagus 18, pp. 267-277., article number: 18, 267–277. (10.1007/s10388-020-00772-3)
- Alexander, P. G. et al. 2021. The Glasgow Microenvironment Score associates with prognosis and adjuvant chemotherapy response in colorectal cancer. British Journal of Cancer 124(4), pp. 786–796. (10.1038/s41416-020-01168-x)
- Mellor, K., Powell, A. G. M. T., James, O. P., Robinson, D. B., Hopkins, L., Egan, R. J. and Lewis, W. G. 2021. Gongs galore: phaleristic study of the relative risk of a healing art related New Year Honour. Postgraduate Medical Journal (10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139368)
- Robinson, D. B. T., Powell, A. G. T., Waterman, J., Hopkins, L., James, O. P., Egan, R. and Lewis, W. G. 2021. Predictive value of Altmetric score on citation rates and bibliometric impact. BJS Open 5(1), article number: zraa039. (10.1093/bjsopen/zraa039)
- Luton, O. et al. 2021. Surgical curriculum concordance: requiem for the educational dream. Postgraduate Medical Journal (10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139385)
2020
- Roseweir, A. K. et al. 2020. Histological phenotypic subtypes predict recurrence risk and response to adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage III colorectal cancer. The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research 6(4), pp. 283-296. (10.1002/cjp2.171)
- Robinson, D. B. T. et al. 2020. Surgical training rotation design: effects of hospital type, rotation theme and duration. BJS Open 4(5), pp. 970-976. (10.1002/bjs5.50326)
- Abdelrahman, T. et al. 2020. Recommended operating room practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: systematic review. BJS Open 4(5), pp. 748-756. (10.1002/bjs5.50304)
- Robinson, D. B. T. et al. 2020. Egalitarianism in surgical training: let equity prevail. Postgraduate Medical Journal 96(1141), pp. 650-654. (10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-137563)
- Powell, A. G. M. T. et al. 2020. Physiological performance and inflammatory markers as indicators of complications after oesophageal cancer surgery. BJS Open 4(5), pp. 840-846. (10.1002/bjs5.50328)
- Robinson, D. B. T., Powell, A. G. M. T., Hopkins, L., James, O. P., Abdelrahman, T., Egan, R. and Lewis, W. G. 2020. Proof of surgical publication prowess: prospective observational study of factors associated with surrogate markers of academic reach. BJS Open 4(4), pp. 724-729. (10.1002/bjs5.50307)
- Powell, A., Karran, A., Blake, P., Christian, A., Roberts, S. and Lewis, W. 2020. Propensity score regression analysis of oesophageal cancer treatment with surgery alone or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. BJS Open 4(4), pp. 593-600. (10.1002/bjs5.50287)
- Powell, A. G. M. T., Chin, C., Coxon, A. H., Chalishazar, A., Christian, A., Roberts, S. A. and Lewis, W. G. 2020. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and survival in oesophageal adenocarcinoma. BJS Open 4(3), pp. 416-423. (10.1002/bjs5.50277)
- Koushyar, S., Powell, A. G., Vincan, E. and Phesse, T. J. 2020. Targeting Wnt signaling for the treatment of gastric cancer. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21(11), article number: 3927. (10.3390/ijms21113927)
- Powell, A. G. M. T., Bowman, C., Brown, C., Egan, R. J. and Lewis, W. G. 2020. Team strategic philosophy: requiem for the infinite game. Postgraduate Medical Journal 96(1136), pp. 310-312. (10.1136/postgradmedj-2019-137441)
- Hopkins, L. et al. 2020. Summative supervisor reporting: a quality performance perspective. Journal of Surgical Education 77(1), pp. 88-95. (10.1016/j.jsurg.2019.08.021)
- Powell, A. G. M. T., Wheat, J., Patel, N., Chan, D., Foliaki, A., Roberts, S. A. and Lewis, W. G. 2020. Value of individual surgeon performance metrics as quality assurance measures in oesophagogastric cancer surgery. BJS Open 4(1), pp. 91-100. (10.1002/bjs5.50230)
- Powell, A. G. M. T., Eley, C., Coxon, A. H., Chin, C., Bailey, D. M. and Lewis, W. G. 2020. Prognostic significance of compound physiology variables in oesophageal cancer. BJS Open
2019
- Drake, T. M. et al. 2019. Outcomes following small bowel obstruction due to malignancy in the national audit of small bowel obstruction. EJSO - European Journal of Surgical Oncology 45(12), pp. 2319-2324. (10.1016/j.ejso.2019.07.014)
- Brown, C. et al. 2019. Prospective cohort study of haptic virtual reality laparoscopic appendicectomy learning curve trajectory. Journal of Laparoendoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques 29(9), pp. 1128-1134. (10.1089/lap.2019.0332)
- Patel, N. et al. 2019. Cardiopulmonary fitness predicts postoperative major morbidity after esophagectomy for patients with cancer. Physiological Reports 7(14), pp. -., article number: e14174. (10.14814/phy2.14174)
- Karsan, R. B., Powell, A. G., Nanjaiah, P., Mehta, D. and Valtzoglou, V. 2019. The top 100 manuscripts in emergency cardiac surgery. Potential role in cardiothoracic training. A bibliometric analysis. Annals of Medicine and Surgery 43, pp. 5-12. (10.1016/j.amsu.2019.05.002)
- Patel, N. et al. 2019. Propensity score analysis of 18-FDG PET/CT-enhanced staging in patients undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 46(4), pp. 801-809. (10.1007/s00259-018-4118-9)
- Robinson, D. B. T., Hopkins, L., Brown, C., Abdelrahman, T., Powell, A. G., Egan, R. J. and Lewis, W. G. 2019. Relative value of adapted novel bibliometrics in evaluating surgical academic impact and reach. World Journal of Surgery 43(4), pp. 967-972. (10.1007/s00268-018-04893-w)
- Williams, A., Powell, A. G., Spernaes, I., Basu, P., Edwards, S. and Edwards, P. 2019. Mode of presentation rather than the 'weekend effect' is a major determinant of in-hospital mortality. Surgeon 17(1), pp. 15-18. (10.1016/j.surge.2018.04.007)
- Roseweir, A. et al. 2019. A novel tumor-based epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition score that associates with prognosis and metastasis in patients with stage II/III colorectal cancer. International Journal of Cancer 144(18), pp. 150-159. (10.1002/ijc.31739)
- Roseweir, A. K. et al. 2019. Src family kinases, HCK and FGR, associate with local inflammation and tumour progression in colorectal cancer. Cellular Signalling 56, pp. 15-22. (10.1016/j.cellsig.2019.01.007)
2018
- Barlow, R. C., Chan, D. S. Y., Mayor, S., Perkins, C., Lawton, H. L., Powell, A. G. and Lewis, W. G. 2018. Fit for Cancer Treatment: a prospective feasibility study of primary care initiated prehabilitation for patients with suspected cancer. BJGP Open 2(4), article number: 18X101608. (10.3399/bjgpopen18X101608)
- Powell, A. G., Bevan, V., Brown, C. and Lewis, W. . G. 2018. Altmetric versus bibliometric perspective regarding publication impact and force. World Journal of Surgery 42(9), pp. 2745-2756. (10.1007/s00268-018-4579-9)
- Powell, A., Coxon, A., Patel, N., Chan, D., Christian, A. and Lewis, W. 2018. Prognostic significance of post-operative morbidity severity score after potentially curative D2 gastrectomy for carcinoma. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 22(9), pp. 1516-1527. (10.1007/s11605-018-3787-9)
- Mellor, K. L., Powell, A. G. M. T. and Lewis, W. G. 2018. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the prognostic significance of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) After R0 gastrectomy for cancer. Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer 49(3), pp. 237-244. (10.1007/s12029-018-0127-y)
- Roseweir, A. K., Halcrow, E. S., Chichilo, S., Powell, A. G., McMillan, D. C., Horgan, P. G. and Edwards, J. 2018. ERK and p38MAPK combine to improve survival in patients with BRAF mutant colorectal cancer. British Journal of Cancer 119, pp. 323-329. (10.1038/s41416-018-0174-y)
- Powell, A., Parkinson, D., Patel, N., Chan, D., Christian, A. and Lewis, W. G. 2018. Prognostic significance of serum inflammatory markers in gastric cancer. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 22(4), pp. 595-605. (10.1007/s11605-017-3597-5)
- Powell, A., Soul, S., Christian, A. and Lewis, W. 2018. Meta-analysis of the prognostic value of CpG island methylator phenotype in gastric cancer. British Journal of Surgery 105(2), pp. e61-e68. (10.1002/bjs.10742)
2017
- Powell, A., Hughes, D., Brown, J., Larsen, M., Witherspoon, J. and Lewis, W. 2017. Esophageal cancer's 100 most influential manuscripts: a bibliometric analysis. Diseases of the Esophagus 30(4), pp. 1-8. (10.1093/dote/dow039)
- Powell, A., Abdelrahman, T., Brown, C., Patel, N., Havard, T., Escofet, X. and Lewis, W. 2017. Mo1226 - Prognostic significance of serum inflammatory markers in gastric cancer. Gastroenterology 152(5 (S1)), pp. S1256. (10.1016/S0016-5085(17)34227-0)
- Ellul, T., Bullock, N., Abdelrahman, T., Powell, A., Witherspoon, J. and Lewis, W. 2017. The 100 most cited manuscripts in emergency abdominal surgery: a bibliometrics analysis. International Journal of Surgery 37, pp. 29-35. (10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.12.006)
2016
- Dreyer, S. B. et al. 2016. The pre treatment systemic inflammatory response is an important determinant of poor pathologic response for patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer. Annals of Surgical Oncology (10.1245/s10434-016-5684-3)
- Matthews, A., Abdelrahman, T., Powell, A. and Lewis, W. 2016. Surgical education's 100 most cited articles: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Surgical Education 73(5), pp. 919-929. (10.1016/j.jsurg.2016.05.011)
- Roseweir, A. K. et al. 2016. Relationship between tumour PTEN/Akt/COX-2 expression, inflammatory response and survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Oncotarget 7(43), pp. 70601-70612. (10.18632/oncotarget.12134)
- Foley, K., Powell, A., Lewis, W. G. and Roberts, S. A. 2016. The 100 most cited articles investigating the radiological staging of oesophageal and junctional cancer: a bibliometric analysis. Insights into Imaging 7(4), pp. 619-628. (10.1007/s13244-016-0505-6)
- Mansouri, D., Powell, A., Park, J. H., McMillan, D. C. and Horgan, P. G. 2016. Long-term follow-up of patients undergoing resection of TNM Stage I colorectal cancer: An analysis of tumour and host determinants of outcome. World Journal of Surgery 40(6), pp. 1485-1491. (10.1007/s00268-016-3443-z)
- Powell, A., Hughes, D., Wheat, J. and Lewis, W. 2016. The 100 most influential manuscripts in gastric cancer: a bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Surgery 28, pp. 83-90. (10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.02.028)
- Park, J. H., Powell, A., Roxburgh, C. S. D., Horgan, P. G., McMillan, D. C. and Edwards, J. 2016. Mismatch repair status in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer: associations with the local and systemic tumour environment. British Journal of Cancer 114(5), pp. 562-570. (10.1038/bjc.2016.17)
- Powell, A., Hughes, D. and Hill, S. 2016. The relationship between pre-operative anaemia, clinicopathological factors and survival in patients undergoing surgery for soft tissue sarcoma. British Journal of Surgery 103, pp. 19-19.
2015
- Powell, A. et al. 2015. Prognostic significance of T (LNR) M in staging gastric cancer incorporating pathological lymph node ratio (LNR). Gastroenterology 148(4), pp. S550-S551. (10.1016/S0016-5085(15)31846-1)
- Wheat, J. et al. 2015. Prognostic significance of T (LNR) M in staging esophageal cancer incorporating pathological lymph node ratio (LNR). Gastroenterology 148(4), pp. S551. (10.1016/S0016-5085(15)31849-7)
- Park, J. H., McMillan, D. C., Powell, A., Richards, C. H., Horgan, P. G., Edwards, J. and Roxburgh, C. S. D. 2015. Evaluation of a tumor microenvironment-based prognostic score in primary operable colorectal cancer. Clinical Cancer Research 21(4), pp. 882-888. (10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-14-1686)
2014
- Park, J. H., Powell, A., Roxburgh, C. S., Richards, C. H., Horgan, P. G., McMillan, D. C. and Edwards, J. 2014. Mismatch repair status, host local and systemic inflammatory responses and survival in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. Gastroenterology 146(5), pp. S1035-S1036., article number: Su1785. (10.1016/S0016-5085(14)63773-2)
- Powell, A., Paterson-Brown, S. and Drummond, G. B. 2014. Undergraduate medical textbooks do not provide adequate information on intravenous fluid therapy: a systematic survey and suggestions for improvement. BMC Medical Education 14(1), pp. 35. (10.1186/1472-6920-14-35)
- Richards, C. H., Roxburgh, C. S. D., Powell, A., Foulis, A. K., Horgan, P. G. and McMillan, D. C. 2014. The clinical utility of the local inflammatory response in colorectal cancer. European Journal of Cancer 50(2), pp. 309-319. (10.1016/j.ejca.2013.09.008)
2013
- Roxburgh, C. S. et al. 2013. The in situ local immune response, tumour senescence and proliferation in colorectal cancer. British Journal of Cancer 109(8), pp. 2207-2216. (10.1038/bjc.2013.556)
Supervision
I am interested in supervising MD/PhD students in the areas of:
- Prognostic and predictive biomarkers of response to chemotherapy in oesophagogastric (OG) cancer
- Improving the quality metrics and complication rates associated with OG cancer surgery
- Bibliometric analysis and the role of emerging compound metrics in determining impact