Brain tumour research
Around 4,500 people are diagnosed with brain tumours, or cancer of the central nervous system, in the UK every year.
Brain tumours are often hard to treat, so research in this area is vital. For children, the survival rates have doubled since the 1960s.
Cancer Research UK supports a broad programme of research into brain tumours. We want to understand their biology and improve diagnosis and treatment.
We have made great progress in the design and development of drugs. For example, we funded research that led to the development of temozolomide, a drug that is used to treat people with some types of brain tumour. It can be taken orally, which means patients don’t have to attend lots of hospital appointments.
You can find out more about brain tumours on our CancerHelp website.
Below are some of the highlights of our brain tumour research portfolio.
On this page
Biomarkers
Dr Steven Pollard
Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Studying stem cells in brain tumours
Cancer genes
Dr Stefan Meyer
Department of Paediatric Oncology
Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester
Learning more about childhood cancers
Clinical trials
Prof David Walker
School of Human Development
University of Nottingham, Nottingham
Testing treatments for childhood brain cancer
Radiobiology
Prof Richard Houlston
Molecular and Population Genetics Team
The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Genes and cancer
Radiotherapy
Prof Michele Saunders
Department of Oncology
Royal Free & University College Medical School, London
Improving radiotherapy for cancer treatment
Stem cells
Dr Steven Pollard
Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research
University of Cambridge, Cambridge



