TUMOURS MADE A “CRITICAL PRIORITY”

A landmark report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT) calls for wide-ranging changes in how research into the disease is funded.

Pathway to a Cure – Breaking Down the Barriers was launched on the eve of Brain Tumour Awareness Month at a Westminster reception where George Freeman MP, Minister of State in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, highlighted his commitment to the cause as he addressed more than 100 attendees.

The APPGBT – for which Brain Tumour Research provides the secretariat – launched an inquiry in 2021 to investigate the barriers on the pathway to a cure. Guided by Derek Thomas MP, Chair of the APPGBT, the inquiry gathered evidence to determine what the barriers are and what must be done to break them down.

Calling out the current funding system as unfit for purpose, the report claims patients and families continue to be let down despite the promise of millions of pounds of investment which has not materialised. It also raises issues in the treatment of terminally ill children denied access to last resort clinical trials and highlights a so-called “valley of death” in which potential new treatments discovered in the laboratory fail to reach patients.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INQUIRY INCLUDE:

•The Government should recognise brain tumour research as a “critical priority”, ring-fencing £110 million of current and new funding

•The research funding system has been built in silos and needs to be joined up from basic science through to clinical trials, and brain tumour patients should have equity of access to trials of new anti-cancer drugs

•Funding bodies should ring-fence specific funding for research into childhood brain tumours where survival rates for the most aggressive tumours have remained unchanged for decades

Among those in our community who welcomed this milestone were Louise and Matt Fox, whose beloved son George died from a glioblastoma (GBM) in April 2022. He was just 13.

Louise said: “We fought for George as hard as we could. Now, despite our loss, we continue to fight in the hope it will help other families in the future. We are activists in a world we never wanted to be part of because it is what George would have wanted. Despite, and perhaps because of, the horror of never seeing our son grow into a man we will never stop trying to make a difference for future young brain tumour patients.”

Influencing UK Governments and larger cancer charities to invest more in brain tumour research

Derek said: “The sad fact is that brain tumour patients do not have the luxury of time. The Government must act now in order to recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority, appoint a champion, and ringfence sufficient funds to make a difference.”

Inset left: George Freeman tweeted his support of the report us

Derek Thomas MP delivered a passionate address