Looking to the horizon

Our two major strategic priorities for the year to come are:

1. The testing and treatment of cancers in children and young people (CYP)
2. The early detection and diagnosis of cancer

Consequently, efforts are underway to strengthen the foundations and establish roadmaps designed to bridge the gaps in research, clinical development and attract investment associated with these challenging areas.

Despite an improvement in the overall number of children surviving cancer over the last four decades, cancer remains the leading cause of death in children and the most common cause of death by disease in teenagers and young adults. Cancer in children and young people is different to that in adults. The reduced occurrence of cancer in CYP in comparison to cancer in adults provides a pressing opportunity for Cancer Research Horizons to work closely with Cancer Research UK to address the unmet clinical needs for this age group. Cancer Research UK is the largest charitable funder of research into cancer in CYP in the UK, and the organisation’s track record has already helped to transform survival in this area by funding some of the most successful paediatric oncology clinical trials.

However, we need to do more. As the innovation arm of the charity, Cancer Research Horizons can help to de-risk and progress novel technologies further down the development path. This helps to mitigate the risk of investing in this niche area and stimulates the development of novel diagnostics and treatments tailored to the metabolism of young people or targets difficult to treat cancers, such as sarcoma. Consequently, Cancer Research Horizons is taking a more active role in serving as the conduit in translating the research currently funded by the charity, and a dedicated team has been assembled to bring together experts and attract global partners to tackle the unique challenges facing children and young people with cancer.

Cancer Research Horizons also plans to do more in the early detection space. Although diagnosis and prevention are optimal approaches for curtailing the cancer disease burden, their value to public health is not reflected in the level of investment these technologies attract. Several Cancer Research UK funding schemes, most notably the Early Detection and Diagnosis Awards, lead to the identification and development of novel biomarkers and diagnostics with the potential for translation for patient benefit. Alongside the launch of a Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre, Cancer Research Horizons expects biomarkers to be an area of strategic focus going forward.