£3m for world-first trial to revolutionise brain cancer treatment

A pioneering UK-wide trial has been awarded over £3m, by Cancer Research UK and the Minderoo Foundation, to test new treatments for people living with brain cancer.  

The ‘next-Generation aGile Genomically Guided Glioma platform trial’, also known as the 5G platform trial, will use a unique, flexible approach to test multiple medicines as treatments for people living with glioblastoma, a fast-growing form of brain cancer which lacks treatment options.

Tackling the problem in real time

Glioblastomas are the most common type of brain tumour in adults, making up around a third (32%) of primary brain tumours diagnosed in England. Because the brain is complex and has a unique biology, finding new treatments for brain cancers is a difficult task. In fact, in the past 20 years there have been over 1,000 brain cancer clinical trials but very few have resulted in significant breakthroughs.

Cancer Research UK and the Minderoo Foundation have come together, each committing £1.68m, to fund a world-first adaptive clinical trial which aims to tackle the problem.  

“Brain tumours are notoriously hard to treat because we still don’t know enough about the biology of the disease, and current treatments are not effective enough,” said Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK. 

“This new trial offers something different because researchers will use the DNA of participants to help them target treatments.” 

As part of the trial, every patient will have their genome sequenced, and the drug combination they receive will be based on the specific genetics of their cancer. As well as helping to target treatments, looking at the DNA of participants can also give researchers clues on how their cancers may have developed in the first place and how they behave.  

The adaptive design of the 5G platform trial, means that the drug combinations that are given to patients can be changed as real-time data is collected. So instead of sticking to one treatment plan that may quickly show signs of not helping treat the brain cancer, researchers will try multiple treatment options across different groups of patients which will help speed up the likelihood of finding a treatment plan that works best for that patient.

“The use of whole genome sequencing for every patient on the trial performed in ‘real time’ enables us to be both agile and precise in our drug targeting. We hope that this approach will help patients with this cancer of unmet need,” said Professor Richard Mair, co-lead of the 5G platform trial and Brain Cancer Virtual Institute at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre. 

Committed to longer, better lives

The 5G platform trial is sponsored by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and conducted by the Joint Drug Development Unit at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). Dr Juanita Lopez from the Institute of Cancer Research and Dr Richard Mair at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre will co-lead the trial. 

The first 5G platform trial sites opened earlier this year in August, recruiting patients who are aged 16 and above, and further sites are planned across the UK as the study progresses. It’s hoped that the unique approach taken by this trial will help speed up the development of new treatments whilst benefiting patients. 

The funding of this study forms part of Cancer Research UK’s long-term commitment to investing in brain cancer research. Cancer Research UK recently announced £8m additional funding for our two Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence. 

The investment in this world-leading study is a commitment to ensure everyone has cancer treatment options, no matter how common or rare their cancer is.