Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence to be established
Published: 17 July 2024
University of Glasgow cancer scientists will play a leading role in a new research centre to help find a cure for the most aggressive form of brain cancer
University of Glasgow cancer scientists will play a leading role in a new research centre to help find a cure for the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
The Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence is jointly funded by the charities Brain Tumour Research and Beatson Cancer Charity, and will be a unique collaboration based at laboratories at the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. World-leading brain cancer experts in the centre will work to find a cure for glioblastoma (GBM), a highly aggressive brain tumour with a devastatingly short average survival time of 12-18 months.
The centre will be home to the largest group of multidisciplinary GBM researchers in the UK and will bridge the gap between promising new discoveries and patient benefit, from laboratory to bedside.
Professor Anthony Chalmers, Chair of Clinical Oncology at the University of Glasgow’s School of Cancer Sciences will play a leading role in the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence, bringing key expertise, including better laboratory models of GBM that will enable scientists to test new treatments more robustly than conventional models.
More than 1,000 people in Scotland are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year. Of those, 433 people are diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumour. The complexity, diversity and rapid growth of GBM, make it difficult to develop treatments. With funding, researchers in Edinburgh and Glasgow would be able to increase the number of clinical trials for GBM patients in Scotland and improve outcomes.
Professor Chalmers said: “I’m delighted and excited that Brain Tumour Research and Beatson Cancer Charity are working together to support the new Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence. The Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh have built very strong brain tumour research teams over the past five years and we have highly complementary strengths. Professor Steve Pollard’s team in Edinburgh is doing world leading discovery research that is identifying brand new treatment strategies for glioblastoma, which is the most deadly brain cancer and the most difficult to treat.
“Here in Glasgow, we have developed new and better laboratory models of glioblastoma that will enable us to test these new treatments extremely rigorously. Working together we will make sure that the treatments that progress to clinical trials in patients have the highest possible chance of success.”
Dan Knowles, Chief Executive of Brain Tumour Research, said: “New, improved treatments for GBM patients are desperately needed. At present, new discoveries and approaches are not progressing quickly enough into clinical testing in patients. The Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence will help bridge this gap leading to pivotal preclinical proof-of-concept data to support clinical trial development for patients. The Centre represents a significant investment in Scotland and would complement our other Centres of Excellence at the University of Plymouth, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, and the Institute of Cancer Research.”
Martin Cawley, CEO of Beatson Cancer Charity, said: “This is such an exciting initiative and one which has the positive potential to make a significant impact into advancing research and ultimately new treatment options for brain tumours. Beatson Cancer Charity is delighted to be working in partnership with Brain Tumour Research to make this happen. I have no doubt this will result in a deeper understanding of the complexity of brain tumours and lead to a breakthrough in exciting new treatments in the years ahead.”
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 17 July 2024