Our impact on children's cancers

Clinical trials are a vital step in bringing new, more effective treatments to children with cancer. Currently around 60 per cent of children with cancer in the UK are on a clinical trial, and this high level of participation has made a major contribution to developing the successful treatments that are used today.

Cancer Research UK plays a unique and pivotal role in children’s cancer trials in the UK. We have funded the clinical research work of the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) for over 25 years. Members of the CCLG have been instrumental in improving the survival rates of children with cancer and continue to drive research forward in this area.

We now work with members of the CCLG through the Cancer Research UK Children’s Cancer Trials Team (CCTT), based in Birmingham. The CCTT co-ordinates groundbreaking clinical trials in 21 centres across the UK. These trials bring cutting edge science from the lab to the bedside, making innovative new treatments available to children with cancer. 

There are numerous types of cancer that affect children, and we have made significant progress in many areas. Here are just a few examples:

• Our pioneering research on leukaemia – the most common type of childhood cancer - has helped save the lives of thousands of children. For example, we funded an important clinical trial showing that a new drug could increase survival by more than 50 per cent for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia whose cancer has come back.9
• We were involved in a trial that led to a dramatic improvement in survival for a type of childhood liver cancer called hepatoblastoma1. Now eight out of ten children survive this disease, compared to two out of ten in the 1970s.
• Our scientists were part of international efforts to improve treatment for children with B cell lymphoma2.
• Cancer Research UK helped to fund research that has changed the way that children are treated for Wilms’ tumour – a type of kidney cancer3.
• We were also involved in a 10-year study that improved survival rates for neuroblastoma by two-thirds4.
• Our work also led to a new standard of treatment for children with medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumour5.
• Almost every child with the eye cancer retinoblastoma is now cured – our research has been at the heart of this success.

In many cases it is very difficult to pin down the exact cause of a child’s cancer, although we know that some are caused by specific gene faults. Our researchers have made great strides in understanding some of the genetic faults that contribute to certain types of the disease.

Scientists funded by Cancer Research UK tracked down important genes involved in Wilms’ tumour6. And they have also discovered key genetic changes in children and young adults with synovial sarcoma7 - a rare type of connective tissue cancer- helping doctors to diagnose the disease more effectively.

Our researchers have also found genes involved in Fanconi anaemia8 – an inherited syndrome that increases a child’s risk of developing leukaemia. This finding will help doctors to predict how the syndrome might progress in individual children, and to tailor their treatment more effectively.

Thousands of children have survived cancer, but it is important to find out whether their treatment has long-term effects on their health and wellbeing.

We have funded the British Childhood Cancer Survival Study for more than two decades, investigating the long-term impact of cancer treatment. The study has shown that many survivors of childhood cancer go on to lead healthy lives, and have children of their own.

But the study has also highlighted discrepancies in the care of childhood cancer survivors, as well as revealing their risk of developing certain diseases or other problems later in life. This work is already helping doctors to provide the best care for children with cancer – offering the most effective treatment while minimising long-term risks.