The leading charity, Cancer Research UK, is to invest £45 million in clinical trials to boost research into cancer diagnosis and treatment, in a move that could particularly help patients with complex, difficult to treat cancers.
Where the money injection is going
Around £20 million of this £45 million investment will be delivered from Jeremy Hunt’s department as Social Care Secretary, with a further £25 million coming from Cancer Research UK. This was a hugely positive announcement following Tessa Jowell, former Labour culture secretary, making a plea for increased trial opportunities.
The substantial investment will be injected over the course of 5 years across eight of Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials units (CTUs), which are staffed by the most skilled and reputable clinicians and researchers. The locations include London (UCL, Queen Mary University of London and The Institute of Cancer Research), Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff and Southampton.
These CTUs design and implement trials, analysing data to drive innovation and advances in what is known about cancer and how best to diagnose, manage and treat it. Each CTU is dedicated to a certain field of exploration, such as screening, or trials for children’s cancer. Birmingham’s CTU will receive funding to focus on the latter, and in particular, neuroblastoma as a childhood cancer, where other treatments have been unsuccessful, questioning whether the drug bevacizumab can help this patient group and type of cancer.
The power of research
It’s estimated that approximately 25,000 individuals participate in a Cancer Research UK clinical trial every year. Clinical trials can aid in the discovery of new screening processes, treatments and therapies, as well as in exploring alternatives to current treatments with fewer, or less severe, side-effects.
Medical research is a vital part of healthcare and paid research studies are on the increase, with new developments in science and technology opening more opportunities to explore. Patients are in demand by trial recruiters like http://www.trials4us.co.uk/.
Patients are helping propel the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment through their involvement in clinical trials, while hopefully experiencing benefits themselves in the process. Cancer Research UK’s top clinician, Professor Swanton, believes clinical trials to be of particular significance at present for those with more complex cancers where treatment is limited, such as oesophageal and pancreatic cancers and brain tumours.