LONDON Scientists today welcomed news that the search for new cancer treatments in the city is to receive a major funding investment of up to £3m, providing future hope for people diagnosed with the disease.
The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust are to receive the funding for their Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC), over the next five years, to help doctors and scientists find the cancer treatments of the future for both adults and children.
The funding has been made possible by a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the Little Princess Trust specifically for children’s cancers.
The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden are part of a network of 17 ECMCs across the UK funded by Cancer Research UK, which deliver early phase clinical trials to develop promising new treatments with patients. Since 2007, when the network was first established, around 30,000 patients have taken part in 2,100 clinical trials.
ECMCs work in conjunction with local NHS facilities to provide access to cutting-edge treatments. Testing these treatments helps to find new ways of detecting and monitoring the disease and to discover how it responds to the treatment.
The funding will allow new, experimental treatments, including immunotherapies, for a wide variety of cancers to be developed, improve existing treatments, and support the work of the Oak Foundation Drug Development Unit, a joint unit of The Royal Marsden and The Institute of Cancer Research which was established with funding from The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Professor Johann de Bono, Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“This funding will allow us to keep making progress in the search for new cancer treatments, ultimately leading to meaningful improvements for those affected by the disease.
“We are grateful for the support of Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the Little Princess Trust in making this research possible.”
One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer within our lifetimes so finding new effective treatments is vital. *
Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, Dr Iain Foulkes, said:
“We are proud to be supporting our successful ECMC network, bringing together vast medical and scientific expertise to translate the latest scientific discoveries from the lab into the clinic.
“The ECMC network is delivering the cancer treatments of the future, bringing new hope to people affected by cancer. The trials taking place today will give the next generation the best possible chance of beating cancer.
“The adult and paediatric ECMC networks will offer clinical trials for many different types of cancer. Researchers will be working to find new treatments and tackle the unique challenges presented by cancers in children and young people. Working with our partners, this new funding will bring hope for more effective, personalised therapies for everyone affected by cancer.”
