A funding boost for experimental treatments may give children with cancer new hope. Every day, at least a dozen families receive the devastating news that their child has the disease. To find new treatments, Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) put drugs through early clinical trials.
Now, 12 paediatric ECMCs across the UK are set to receive a £2.2 million funding boost from the charities Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the Little Princess Trust, which provides free wigs made from real hair to young people who have lost their hair due to cancer.
Overview of the situation
Over the next five years, the additional investment will more than double the funding for the paediatric ECMC network. Clinical trials for blood cancers such as leukemia, brain tumors that affect children such as medulloblastoma, and Wilm’s tumor – a kidney cancer that affects children – are all part of the research.
Scientists are developing personalised treatments that may be more effective by targeting the specific tumor using its genetic fingerprint. In addition to a £40.8 million funding boost for adult cancer clinical trials at 17 ECMCs, the money was used to launch the Fighting to Beat Children’s Cancer campaign, which raises funds for critical research.
Words from Experts
Cancer Research UK’s Dr. Iain Foulkes stated, “The ECMC network is delivering the cancer treatments of the future, bringing new hope to people affected by cancer.” In the United Kingdom, approximately 4,200 children and young people under the age of 25 are diagnosed with cancer each year.
One in every five people is killed by the disease, which kills around 500 people each year. Childhood cancer is expected to increase by one-fifth over the next two decades, according to Cancer Research UK.
‘Since 2016, The Little Princess Trust has been funding research with the aim of improving outcomes with targeted treatments with less toxicity for children and young people with cancer,’ said Phil Brace, chief executive of The Little Princess Trust. We’ve made strides, but there’s still work to be done.’
Fighting to Beat Children’s Cancer, which has received a £50,000 donation from the Mail’s charitable arm, is a cause that Rishi Sunak is “proud” to support, according to Rishi Sunak.
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