We’re accelerating brain tumour research with £8m more for our Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence

The proportion of people surviving brain tumours has remained low since the 1970s.* Although there have been some important advances, there is still a pressing need to find new ways to tackle this hard-to-treat disease.  

That’s why, for the past 10 years, we’ve highlighted brain tumours as one of our cancers of unmet need and made researching them a strategic priority. In 2018, we launched two specialised Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence. Already, they’ve made great advances by bringing together world-leading research communities and equipping them with innovative tools and technologies. 

Now, to speed up the development of better treatments for people affected by brain tumours, we are awarding the centres a further £8m over the next five years. This extra funding is being announced today at the Cancer Research UK Brain Tumour Conference in London.  

The Glioma Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence

There are over 100 types of brain tumours in total, with glioma being the most common brain tumour type across all age groups. Unfortunately, the most prevalent form of glioma in adults, glioblastoma, is also one of the hardest to treat, meaning it comes with an especially poor prognosis.  

Searching for new ways of treating glioblastoma is the focus of our Glioma Centre of Excellence, a joint initiative between the University of Edinburgh and University College London. Co-led by renowned experts in glioblastoma research Professor Simona Parrinello and Professor Steve Pollard, the centre is training up-and-coming researchers so they can make the vital discoveries we need to help patients.  

The centre’s growing team has also already developed much-needed new models for studying glioblastoma. Now they plan to push ahead with research into how it starts, evolves and evades existing treatments. They intend to use what they discover to develop new ways of treating the disease. 

The Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence

Our second centre, the Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence (CBTCE), focuses on paediatric brain tumours, which are the biggest cause of cancer-related deaths in children.  

Since 2018, the team at this centre, hosted by The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London and the University of Cambridge, have been working towards breakthroughs we’ve spent decades waiting for. After 50 years with very few advances, they’re already developing new treatments into clinical trials.  

Like the Glioma Centre of Excellence, the CBTCE emphasises training early career researchers and looking closely at how normal brain cells can become cancerous. With the new funding, the team, which is led by Professor Richard Gilbertson and Professor Paul Workman, will bring exciting new technologies into the mix.  

At Cambridge, where Gilbertson is based, researchers will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques to find out more about the biology of paediatric brain tumours. The drug discovery experts at the ICR (Workman’s workplace) will then use these insights to identify potential new therapies. 

Catalysing progress

Since their launch, our Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence have made great progress. But, we still have further to go.  

This is crucial because, for decades, the gaps in our knowledge of brain tumours have restricted our ability to devise new ways of treating them. Although today’s treatments can be effective, there are no curative options for some patients, and those that survive their disease can face life-altering side effects.  

No single scientist or institution has all the skills and expertise we need to change that. 

By bringing together a diverse community of experts, both at the conference and in our Centres of Excellence, we’re creating opportunities for connections that can finally close the biggest gaps in our understanding of brain tumours and open new routes to kinder and more effective treatments.