Making discoveries is part of our DNA. But we need to translate those discoveries into tests and treatments to change the lives of people affected by cancer.
Cancer Research Horizons is our innovation engine built to complement our network of exceptional researchers. We take cutting-edge innovations from the lab bench to the bedside, translating them into effective treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients.
90+
start-ups supported, leveraging £3.4bn in additional investment
£600m+
from royalties and intellectual property reinvested into cancer research
14 drugs
that we significantly contributed to, delivering over six million courses of treatment for people with cancer worldwide
With more funding, we could achieve even more together.
Philanthropic investment is powering a new era of cancer research, where data and artificial intelligence (AI) are unlocking insights that could transform how we detect cancer earlier, tailor treatments and save more lives. For people affected by cancer and their families, this means greater certainty, more options and renewed hope for the future.
Our aim is simple and ambitious: to accelerate the impact of AI and data science in cancer research so it helps our researchers deliver the breakthroughs that will help everybody live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer. Our data and AI strategy has three interdependent priorities – data, research and talent, all underpinned by strong ethical foundations, partnerships and policy leadership.
The opportunity is clear and urgent – but realising it depends on bold philanthropic support. Joining us as we invest in this area will help us bring together world-leading expertise, equip researchers with cutting-edge tools and turn data into discoveries that save lives.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and screening methods we helped develop can reduce cervical cancer rates to the point where almost no one develops it. Thanks to these advances, the World Health Organization has set an ambitious global target to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem.
Image by David Vintiner
Science is moving faster than ever, with new technologies unlocking ways to enhance and extend lives.
By plugging gaps in the translation journey we ensure that world leading ideas survive the journey from the lab to the clinic. But we need your help to make it happen.
Cancer survival is three times higher on average if diagnosed early. Yet almost half of all cancer cases are diagnosed when the disease is already at a late stage and harder to treat. Our National Biomarker Centre will harness the power of biomarkers – biological clues that can help us spot cancer earlier.
Professor Caroline Dive, CBE, is Director of our National Cancer Biomarker Centre. She believes we “have the potential to make a difference on a grand scale. The health of the public will be transformed if we get early detection of cancer right.”
Cancer in children and young people is different to cancer in adults and presents a unique set of challenges to overcome. The relative rarity of these cancers means that clinical trials are more complex and there’s less money invested from industry.
Our work driving discovery research into the clinic is bridging that gap, ensuring more people survive with a better quality of life. “We’re pushing the frontiers of treatment for childhood cancers,” explains Professor Louis Chesler, Lead of our Stratified Medicine Paediatrics 2 programme. “Every day, research is bringing us closer to a reality where every child with cancer receives treatment that’s tailored to the unique biology of their cancer.”
Too many ideas get trapped between research and development, and commercialisation. We need to get innovations off the shelf, funded and supported.
Our Cancer Impact Booster will create a stronger pipeline for ideas to become the treatments, diagnostics and medical devices of tomorrow. Professor Sergio Quezada, Cancer Research UK scientist and scientific founder of Achilles Therapeutics, highlights that “this fund for moving basic science to translation is hugely important, helping accelerate research and providing a support network for scientists to innovate. Cancer Research UK is uniquely poised to do this, their network of scientists, data and information is tremendous.”
Find out more about our work
We’ll take risks where others can’t, and help new cancer treatments, diagnostics, and technologies reach the clinic, faster.
With more innovation and translation, we can bridge the gap between cancer research and cancer interventions – making every cancer both treatable and beatable.
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