Scottish scientists, including cancer researchers at the University of Glasgow, are set to receive a major cash injection from Cancer Research UK.

Experts at the new Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre will receive around £12 million over the next five years for their ground-breaking work, as part of the development of a unique chain of cutting-edge research hubs around the UK.

The money will be used to accelerate work into diagnosing and treating cancers which are among the most prevalent in Scotland, including bowel cancer, mesothelioma, liver cancer and brain tumours.

Professor Owen Sansom

The University of Glasgow's Professor Owen Sansom, Co-Director of the new Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, added: “The new Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre will bring some of the best scientists in Scotland together to tackle some of the biggest cancer challenges that matter to people across Scotland.

“We will have a relentless focus on tackling cancers which affect our fellow citizens, drawing on expertise built up over many decades."

Professor Ian Tomlinson, Co-Director of the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, said: “We’ve had a challenging year and COVID-19 has slowed us down. But we will not stop working hard to find new treatments for cancer, and this investment will give us the tools we need to deliver high quality research which will make the biggest difference for patients.

“This investment means we will be able to further develop our work in translational research – getting cutting edge discoveries from the laboratory to patients and learning as much as possible from patients to initiate new research.”

The Scotland Centre, comprising scientists from the University of Glasgow alongside fellow Glasgow cancer scientists and scientists from the University of Edinburgh, has been chosen as one of just seven locations to secure funding in the latest review of the Cancer Research UK Centres network of excellence. These are world-class research centres which draw together leading research and medical expertise to drive the best possible results for cancer patients.

Every year, 33,200 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland.

Dr Iain Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “This past year proves, more than any other, the value of investing in science and medical research, and what can be achieved with collective focus and collaboration. Just like science is our route out of the pandemic, science is our route to beating cancer.

“Despite the impact of the pandemic on the charity’s income, we are funding some of the best and most promising research in Scotland to help more people survive.

“Survival rates have doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress. Every step our doctors, nurses and scientists take relies on every pound raised through fundraising, and they need your support now more than ever.

“Our determination to beat cancer hasn’t faltered and we are even more focussed on our ambition of seeing 3 in 4 people survive their cancer by 2034. One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetimes, and all of us can support the research that will beat it.”

Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 6557 or 0141 330 4831

First published: 4 February 2022

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