Cancer

The Government has published an implementation plan for its 10-year clinical research vision. It provides the first chance to properly gauge whether the vision is on track to be delivered by 2031. So, is it any more than just rhetoric? Here, our policy team give us the low-down…    As a research funder and an

Last night, Dame Deborah James’s family announced that she passed away peacefully at home, after living with bowel cancer since 2016. Since her diagnosis, Deborah tirelessly campaigned for bowel cancer awareness as ‘Bowel Babe’. She will be greatly missed, and her legacy will continue long into the future. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive at Cancer Research

This is the third instalment of our series on health inequalities, where we explore the unfair and avoidable differences in cancer incidence and outcomes across society. Our last post looked at inequalities in smoking, and what needs to change to reduce smoking-related cancers. In this piece, we investigate diet inequality and its root causes with

Welcome to our newest blog series, “Five Questions With…”  In this series, we will highlight the unsung heroes that make healthcare work. From guest services to the phlebotomist, the pet therapy volunteer, and the environmental services workers.  These individuals enhance our experiences when we are getting care and highlight human connection and support. Thank you for all

Last week, Cancer Grand Challenges, a global funding initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in the US, announced the funding of four new teams taking on the biggest challenges in cancer research today. After their announcement, we broke down two of the four challenges these new teams will be taking

When we think about cancers, and specifically treating cancers, we tend to think about targeting tumour cells directly with chemo- or radiotherapies. However, what makes targeting tumour cells even more complicated is that tumours don’t exist in isolation. They are surrounded by what’s called the tumour microenvironment. The tumour microenvironment is a kind of ecosystem

Despite big improvements in survival, cancer is still one of the world’s biggest killers. Leading Cancer Research UK-funded scientists explain why it presents such a challenge – and look at how far we’ve come  Written by  Natalie Grover for Guardian Labs  Part of a pancreatic tumour seen down a microscope, with tumour cells labelled in

Welcome to our newest blog series, “Five Questions With…”  In this series, we will highlight the unsung heroes that make healthcare work. From guest services to the phlebotomist, the pet therapy volunteer, and the environmental services workers.  These individuals enhance our experiences when we are getting care and highlight human connection and support. Thank you for all

Cancer Grand Challenges is a global funding initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US. Recognising the need for team science to drive us forward, Cancer Grand Challenges provides up to £20 million in funding to diverse, global research teams, giving them the freedom to come together, think

Ten years ago, Cancer Research UK was delighted to enter a three-year partnership with renewable energy company ScottishPower with the aim of raising £5m for our life-saving work. This was a very ambitious and exciting target as £5m can make a big difference to our research and the scientists, doctors and nurses making it happen.

Nobody fully understands why people go off food in response to infection, early pregnancy and some chemotherapies for cancer. A flurry of research published in recent years has narrowed down the search for the culprit mechanism, and Cancer Research UK-funded researchers have just found another piece of the puzzle… Cachexia, sometimes described as a metabolic

Cancers begin when changes in genes called mutations cause cells to start multiplying uncontrollably. Mutations can be the result of damage to DNA caused by external agents, like UV light or chemicals in cigarettes, or caused by ‘mistakes’ when DNA is replicated in cells before they divide. Cancer cells can have large numbers of these

Lilly Matson  Hi, and welcome to That Cancer Conversation. The podcast from Cancer Research UK that brings together the science and the stories behind cancer with me Lilly Matson. So here at CRUK, we don’t want to shy away from the big questions. And this latest episode is definitely looking at a hard one. Why

Members of Girls Aloud Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola are working together this year to raise funds to support a poignant and specific wish that Sarah Harding expressed prior to her passing; to raise money for breast cancer research. To kick off their fundraising efforts, the girls are joining forces with us for a special

Welcome to our newest blog series, “Five Questions With…”  In this series, we will highlight the unsung heroes that make healthcare work. From guest services to the phlebotomist, the pet therapy volunteer, and the environmental services workers.  These individuals enhance our experiences when we are getting care and highlight human connection and support. Thank you for all

Two new reports by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) have found that the UK had a 17% shortfall of clinical oncologists, and a 29% shortfall of consultant radiologists, last year. The latest findings have highlighted the impact of workforce issues on the ongoing patient backlog and patient outcomes across UK nations. These reports further

A new independent review into tobacco control, commissioned by the Health Secretary Sajid Javid, has just been published. The review, led by Dr Javed Khan OBE, sets out a roadmap the UK Government should follow to close the health inequality gap and end smoking in England. We are urging the Government to take these measures

Welcome to our newest blog series, “Five Questions With…”  In this series, we will highlight the unsung heroes that make healthcare work. From guest services to the phlebotomist, the pet therapy volunteer, and the environmental services workers.  These individuals enhance our experiences when we are getting care and highlight human connection and support. Thank you for all

Normal squamous epithelial cells from the cervix under the microscope In January, we wrote about the changes to the cervical screening programme in Wales. This change extended the standard interval between screens for most people to 5 years. The change made headlines, with many people worried the longer interval would result in cervical cancers being

Welcome to our newest blog series, “Five Questions With…”  In this series, we will highlight the unsung heroes that make healthcare work. From guest services to the phlebotomist, the pet therapy volunteer, and the environmental services workers.  These individuals enhance our experiences when we are getting care and highlight human connection and support. Thank you for all

A new poll, carried out by YouGov for Cancer Research UK, has revealed that three quarters of the UK public think the NHS is understaffed and underequipped to tackle cancer. The Cancer Awareness Measure, which surveyed almost 2,500 people in February 2022, found that 75% of people didn’t think the NHS was sufficiently equipped to

Breast cancer cells Credit: NCI Drug resistance is one of biomedicine’s biggest threats, standing in the way of cures for all manner of viruses, infections and diseases, including cancer. But our scientists across the country are working hard to tackle it. After a shock breast cancer diagnosis in January 2021 at the age of 48,

Dame Deborah James, also known as Bowelbabe Since she was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2016, Dame Deborah James, also known as Bowelbabe, has shared her story with the world. A deputy headteacher prior to her diagnosis, Deborah has been detailing her cancer experience through her own blog, a column ‘Things Cancer Made Me

Cancer Research Matters is a new podcast from Cancer Research UK featuring some of the incredible researchers behind cancer research. Cancer Research Matters provokes conversation around cancer science, how it shapes our understanding of the disease and the challenges we face as we develop therapies. The first series focusses on the 20th anniversary of CRUK

Ibrutinib, a drug used to treat Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia, is not being recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in England for adults who have had at least one previous treatment. The drug, which is sold under the brand name Imbruvica, has been available for people in England through the Cancer Drugs

Linking dinosaur tumours and proton beams, a major new exhibition shows the strides scientists have made as they unravel the complexities of cancer – and explores what the future holds  Written by David Cox for Guardian Labs  The Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope exhibition launched in Manchester in October and opens in London in

Many of us love the sunshine – but it isn’t always good for us! UV radiation from the sun causes skin damage and aging, cataracts, and skin cancer. Every year there are more new cases of skin cancer than new cases of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers combined! Did you know one in five

Welcome to our newest blog series, “Five Questions With…”  In this series, we will highlight the unsung heroes that make healthcare work. From guest services to the phlebotomist, the pet therapy volunteer, and the environmental services workers.  These individuals enhance our experiences when we are getting care and highlight human connection and support. Thank you for all