Celebrating the discoveries that are helping to defeat cancer

What your support means for our research

Dear Voornaam,

As we pass the halfway mark in 2024, we want to say a huge thank you for helping us achieve phenomenal progress in our ambition to defeat cancer. With your support, we’re making huge strides in our research and wanted to share some of the advances from the past six months, of which we are most proud.

Professor Nicholas Turner led the international trial of capivasertib which resulted in its approval

One such success is the approval of the targeted breast cancer drug, capivasertib, by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for treating the most common type of advanced breast cancer. The development of capivasertib followed years of fundamental research at the ICR, aimed at understanding how the AKT protein is regulated.

Thanks to people like you, we have raised over £88,000 for our hard-to-treat cancers appeal, helping patients like Yvonne, who was matched with the right treatment following her lung cancer diagnosis. Help us reach the £100,000 mark.

Donate now

Professor Chris Bakal led a team of scientists who discovered how a shape-shifting cancer cell could offer potential drug targets against skin cancer. Chris Bakal is Professor of Cancer Morphodynamics at the ICR and Terry Fox Run UK ambassador.

A new trial we conducted alongside The Royal Marsden found that radiotherapy combined with hormone therapy can help some advanced prostate cancer patients avoid chemotherapy, improving their quality of life.

A new drug, discovered in a clinical trial we jointly led, could offer a powerful way to sensitise tumours to immunotherapy. Ceralasertib, a drug which targets cancer’s ability to repair its DNA, showed promise for patients no longer responding to current cancer treatments.

None of these discoveries could be possible without the support of people like you. Thank you for helping us bring hope to cancer patients today and in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine Graham
Joint Head of Fundraising Campaigns and Individual Giving