Projects we fund

Overview

Many papers have been written about the findings of this survey. It appears that rather few cases can be accounted for by external factors and that most childhood cancers are determined by complex genetic factors. It seems likely that inherited genetic patterns could be revealed by studying the medical histories of the children and their families. Although much of the information from this survey has been saved, as a result of a previous grant from Children with Cancer UK, some paper records were archived when the Childhood Cancer Research Group in Oxford had to close in 2014. These records are at risk of being destroyed soon and the team wish to preserve the information by scanning the documents into computer-viewable image files. This will make it possible for future researchers to investigate particular tumours, some of which are very rare.

Potential impact

The project will ensure that one of the largest datasets in the world will remain available for researchers interested in any of the many different forms of cancer in children and in their causes. The data will then be useful for future research in several areas, including the study of congenital anomalies to throw light on genetic connections with childhood cancer, and the analysis of families with two or more affected children in order to estimate the risks to siblings of affected children.