We fund research

Background

The incidence of childhood cancer increased through the second half of the 20th century and continues to increase today. Incredible progress has been made in treating childhood cancers but the pace of progress has now slowed and a substantial minority of patients are failed by therapy and do not survive. In addition, the tremendous gains in survival have been achieved through the use of increasingly intensive treatment regimens, putting young patients at risk of adverse, treatment-related effects.

Research aims

We want to understand more about why children develop cancer, to find explanations for the increase in risk and to establish whether prevention is a possibility

We want to drive forward the development of novel approaches to diagnosis, identification of markers of likely outcome and improved treatments for childhood cancer in order to tackle those forms which still elude successful treatment and to minimise the risk of adverse, treatment-related effects

We want to understand more about the long-term risks faced by childhood cancer survivors, of whom there are now more than 30,000 in the UK.

In 2017, we made grants of over £5.8 million for research into childhood cancer (2016: £4.1 million). In 2018, we will spend more than £3.6 million on research into childhood cancer.

We primarily award grants to institutions such as universities, medical and scientific research centres, and hospitals. We also award some fellowships and individual further professional development training awards. Only researchers based at institutions in the UK can usually apply for funding. We fund research overseas only if it is part of an agreed collaborative effort. Part of the criteria for the award of a grant is that there is adequate infrastructure to support the proposed work.

Our research strategy sets out the key areas of research we have decided we need to focus on.

Grant applications are invited via our different funding streams such as our Brain Tumour Initiative, Fellowships etc. These applications are rigorously assessed by members of our Scientific Advisory Panel with the assistance of expert external reviewers from around the world.

Children with Cancer UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). The AMRC sets minimum standards of good practice to which member charities must adhere in their grant-making, including policies on peer review.

We keep in touch with grant-holders during the period of their grant to monitor their progress and keep track of findings.

Under our terms and conditions of funding, all grant-holders must provide annual reports on the progress of their project and a final report at the end of the grant.

We endeavour to visit each project at least once during the course of the grant – to meet the research team, inspect the research facilities and check on the progress of the work.

We place great importance on the dissemination of results, so that those working in the field can learn from other people’s research.

We closely monitor the progress of the projects we fund and encourage scientists to publish the results of their work where possible.

We provide additional funding for researchers to travel to conferences and meetings to present their work and discuss their findings.

We also host conferences and scientific workshops to bring together those engaged in childhood cancer research. In February 2016, we held a specialist workshop on drug delivery in childhood brain tumours; in September 2016 we are hosting our fourth international conference Childhood Cancer 2016, where a number of our grant-holders will present results from their research.

Children with Cancer UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and supports the AMRC’s position statement on using animals in research. We support the principle of using animals in research when it is necessary to advance understanding of health and disease and to develop new treatments; we want to find improved treatments that will cure even the hardest-to-treat forms of childhood cancer, causing minimal side effects for the child. This research follows strict animal welfare regulations and only takes place where there is no other alternative available. Research projects are only funded by us after rigorous ethical and scientific assessment and licencing by the Home Office. Children with Cancer UK has signed the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, alongside over 120 other organisations. Together, we have committed to enhancing our communication about the use of animals in research. For our full Position Statement on animal research, please click the link below.

We have never funded any research using human embryos. We have funded some work involving human embryonic stem cells. References to the use of ‘stem cells’ in our research generally refer to blood stem cells rather than embryonic stem cells.