Where our donations are going
In previous years we have asked for our donations to be restricted to research into Ewing’s sarcoma (a rare bone cancer), the Frances Crick Institute (http://www.crick.ac.uk/), triple negative breast cancer and Wilms tumour (a rare kidney cancer effecting young children).
For 2017 we have chose 3 cancers - each reflect a group of our supporters - women, men and children.
Breast Cancer
There has been incredible progress towards beating breast cancer worldwide. Almost 90% of women diagnosed with this disease will survive for 5 years or more. But there’s still so much to do – we won’t rest until every last person survives their cancer.
Our researchers are working tirelessly to bring an end to breast cancer once and for all. And they’re doing this in many different ways.
For example, Professor Carlos Caldas and his team at our Cambridge Institute are searching through genetic data from thousands of breast cancers. By identifying the individual molecular ‘signatures’ of tumours, they hope to find better ways to diagnose and treat the disease.
Meanwhile, at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Dr Chris Bakal is investigating a special ‘shapeshifting’ power that breast cancers cells sometimes develop. The cells change their shape – becoming long and thin rather than fat and round – in order to spread around the body. Dr Bakal is trying to develop drugs that can act as a ‘freeze ray’ to stop the cancer cells from spreading.
Also at The Institute of Cancer Research, Professor Judith Bliss is running major clinical trials to improve chemotherapy and radiotherapy for breast cancer, making sure that women get the best treatment.
And finally, Dr Jacqui Shaw and her team at Leicester are developing sophisticated new ways of detecting breast cancer cells hiding in the bloodstream. Her research could open doors to improved diagnosis and treatment.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in UK men, but, thanks to research, over two thirds of patients will now survive for at least 10 years. We have been at the heart of this progress, and treatments continue to improve.
In London, Professor Ros Eeles is researching the genetics of prostate cancer, which could lead to new ways to spot the disease earlier as well as new treatments.
And at our Beatson Institute in Glasgow, Professor Hing Leung is looking at how faulty communication inside prostate cells leads to cancer, and how we might use that information to detect and treat the disease.
To develop new treatments, Professor Johann de Bono’s team in London are leading clinical trials to test drugs that may help men whose prostate cancer is no longer responding to other treatments.
And at the University of Warwick, Professor Nick James is leading a major clinical trial called STAMPEDE, comparing several different prostate cancer drugs to find the best treatment.
By supporting the 2017 Race for Life you will be helping our scientists find the best ways of detecting, diagnosing, and treating prostate cancer, changing the future for fathers, husbands, grandads, sons, and brothers across the globe.
Neuroblastoma
Every year in the UK around 1,600 children are diagnosed with cancer, but thanks to research, the number of children surviving their disease has tripled since the 1960s.
But there are still some types of childhood cancer where survival is not good enough. One of these is neuroblastoma – a disease that accounts for around 6% of all cancer cases in children.
Fortunately, we’ve got some of the world’s top minds tackling this problem.
At the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Professor Louis Chester is trying to understand the nuts and bolts of how neuroblastomas develop. It seems that two molecules called MYC-N and ALK may drive the beginnings of the disease. By studying the behaviour of these molecules, Professor Chester might be able to find new drugs to block them – stopping the cancer early.
Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Dr Francis Mussai is working on ways to use the body’s in-built defensive forces to target neuroblastoma. He is engineering specialized immune cells with the ability to find and destroy the cancer cells.
And finally, we know that beating this disease requires as many bright minds and as much data as possible, so we are working internationally to combine our resources with researchers across Europe. 17 countries have joined forces to get huge amounts of information from neuroblastoma clinical trials. This vital data will allow researchers to get answers to some of the most pressing questions in childhood cancer research. Together, we’re accelerating progress and bringing the best treatments to patients sooner.
