A CHARITY that began at a kitchen table in St Andrews is behind some of the biggest breakthroughs in cancer research across the world – yet many Scots are unaware of its existence.
That’s something the new CEO of Worldwide Cancer Research, Laura Brady, wants to change, as she is proud of both her own Scottish roots and those of the charity.
With the men’s football team off to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, she feels it’s a great time to celebrate the Scottish charity’s impressive achievements – as well as the continued need for funds.
“We’re very proud to be from here and that is one of the reasons I want to shout about it more as we really do punch above our weight in terms of our impact across the world,” Brady told the Sunday National.
Now based in Edinburgh, Worldwide Cancer Research was set up 47 years ago by researcher Dr Colin Thomson to support pioneering new projects with the sole purpose of outsmarting the disease for future generations.
Over the years, it has built a reputation for funding some of the world’s most important early-stage research into any type of cancer.
To date, the charity has invested more than £220 million in pioneering, early-stage research across more than 30 countries.
It plays a unique role within the cancer research funding landscape as it funds the ideas that can lead to major breakthroughs but which risk-averse commercial companies are often unwilling to back.
A great example is olaparib, the first in a brand new class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors and the first real hope for years for improving ovarian cancer survival. Worldwide Cancer Research funded the early discovery research that laid the foundations for olaparib in the 1990s. Without that early support, its development may never have happened.
With one in two people now diagnosed with cancer across the world and incidences set to rise further, the need for more research is still great.
“Although many breakthroughs have been made, cancer is one of the biggest causes of death in the world and the treatments that people receive are still invasive,” pointed out Brady.
Commercial companies tend to fund research into the more common cancers as they believe there is more likely to be a return on their investment. That means research into the less common ones often struggles for funding.
“One of the things we really want to do is level out the playing field for the type of chance you have as a cancer patient,” said Brady. “Diagnosis and prognosis are different depending on the cancer type you have, your gender and where you live in the world. It’s a global problem, and generally speaking, commercial companies favour things that have got a bit more certainty around them and have more commercial potential.
“For example, research in breast cancer or prostate cancer is more likely to be funded than one of the rare cancers because it potentially has a much wider reach.”
The system is so risk-averse that discovery research tends to rely on charity funding. Discovery research is at the very beginning of the cancer research pipeline and can take 15-20 years to go from idea to impact.
“We are funding the breakthroughs that lead to treatment, diagnostic tools or prevention options,” said Brady.
While Worldwide Cancer Research has benefitted from a few government grants over the years, most of the funds come from individual donations.
Thanks to donors’ generosity, the charity funds around £6m worth of research every year but could support much more if the funds were available. This year, applications for grants were capped at 500, which meant rejecting another 500 worthy projects.
“It’s hugely impressive to see the level of intellect and human ingenuity at the heart of all this,” said Brady. “The most inspirational part is that these great ideas are actually brought on to help real people that we love.”
One of the most challenging aspects of the disease is that it is always evolving, so a treatment that once worked on a patient may stop having any effect as they build up an immunity to it.
As a result, Brady believes focusing on prevention as well as diagnosis and treatment is important.
“You have to give prevention its due, but doing that type of research can also be challenging,” she said,
“Improving treatment is also vital. At the end of the day, people still get scared when they hear the word cancer, and part of that is because they know they’ve got to have treatment, which can be gruelling.”
Brady added: “I had a friend recently who was diagnosed with cancer and had to choose between three different treatment options, which was really difficult because there wasn’t much that was positive about any of them. We would love it if some of our research leads to a better approach when it comes to choosing treatment options.”
Breakthrough research into a rare cancer can also have positive implications for other types of the disease.
“Cancer covers 200 diseases – I don’t know if everybody realises that,” said Brady. “The learning you can take from one type of cancer research can usually translate into others, which is interesting.”
Many experts believe there will never be a single cure for cancer, but Brady hopes that doesn’t stop the search for new ideas with big potential.
“They say there will be no single cure. That may be true. But I hope we never stop pursuing breakthroughs that could be
game-changing for people with cancer,” she said.
“I’m sure I speak for all cancer charities when we say we would love it if there was a day that none of us were needed. I know that’s the ultimate goal for all of us.”
www.worldwidecancerresearch.org/
