This year has been as busy as ever and we’ve made great progress made in all aspects of our work, from lab research to clinical trials and policy to prevention. Here are some of our key successes in a couple of handy interactive timelines.

January to June:


July to December:

Text version below:

This year has been as busy as ever and we’ve made great progress made in all aspects of our work, from lab research to clinical trials and policy to prevention. Here are some of our key successes. Click here to view in an interactive timeline.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

  • We Stand Up To Cancer, with a celebrity-packed show on Channel 4 and fundraising activities around the country, raising a staggering £8 million that could fund up to 15 clinical trials to bring new treatments to people with cancer.
  • Our scientists in Leicester and London investigate whether a simple blood test could spot the earliest signs of breast cancer more accurately than current screening techniques.
  • We launch an important new clinical trial for children and adults with a type of muscle cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, aiming to improve survival for people whose cancer has come back after treatment.
  • Researchers at our Beatson Institute in Glasgow make the intriguing discovery that breast cancer cells spread by ‘digging’ into nearby tissues and crawling into the spaces. This detailed lab research helps us understand how cancer spreads and how we could stop it.
  • Our researchers in Bristol find that comparing levels of a certain protein could predict whether a person’s bowel cancer is likely to respond to treatment with a particular type of drug.
  • We launch our first ‘citizen science’ cancer project, CellSlider, allowing anyone to help our scientists spot cancerous cells on their home computer with just a few clicks of a mouse.
  • Our scientists show that combining digital images of breast tumours with genetic information can give a more accurate picture of how a cancer will behave, which could lead to more effective treatment in the future.
  • Scientists at our Cambridge Research Institute discover new types of early cells in mammary (breast) glands, uncovering clues to the origins of different breast cancer and revealing potential new drug targets.
  • Fantastic news for cancer patients as the Government listens to our Voice For Radiotherapy campaign and announces a £15 million fund to enable people in England to get the latest radiotherapy techniques and a commitment that all patients would receive the treatment they need from April 2013. But we think much more needs to happen to make these good intentions a reality for everyone.
  • The results of the independent breast screening review, commissioned by the National Cancer Director and Cancer Research UK, show that as well as saving lives, the current breast screening programme also brings a risk of overdiagnosis – women being diagnosed with a slow-growing cancer that would not have caused them a problem in their lifetime. The review highlights the need for research to help increase the benefits and minimise the risks from breast screening in the future.

November

December