Raising Awareness of Glioblastoma 

During Glioblastoma Awareness Week (13th – 19th July 2026), we are shining a spotlight on this most devastating of brain tumours, highlighting the shocking statistics, telling the stories of patients and families affected, and sharing how the critical research we fund will get us closer to a cure.

Help fund the fight against brain tumours 

What is glioblastoma? 

Glioblastoma (sometimes called GBM) is the most common type of brain cancer in adults. This type of tumour is formed from the support cells of the brain known as glial cells.

• Around 3,200 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma every year in the UK

• Just one third of those diagnosed with a glioblastoma will survive beyond a year

• Just 4% of those diagnosed will survive five years or more

• The average survival for someone diagnosed with glioblastoma is 12-18 months

Despite these stark facts, there have been no new treatments for glioblastoma approved since 2005. These fast-growing and highly aggressive tumours are incredibly challenging to treat due to their complex nature. They are diffuse, meaning the tumours cells invade healthy areas of the brain and, even when removed by surgery, glioblastoma will always come back.

Conor's story

Twenty-one-year-old Conor was first diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of five, and faced a three further leukaemia diagnoses throughout his childhood. Conor remained cancer free for more than four years until September 2025, when persistent headaches led him to attend hospital, where scans revealed a mass on his brain. After a seven-hour operation, Conor and his family were told the tumour was a glioblastoma and his diagnosis was life-limiting. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy after his most recent scan showed three tumours had grown back.

Conor’s dad Trevor, who ran the TCS London Marathon in April and raised more than £17,000 for Brain Tumour Research, said: “No human should ever have to endure what he’s gone through. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It’s horrendous for someone so young whose life has just been consumed by cancer in various guises.

“The way Conor has dealt with this has just been phenomenal and makes me immensely proud of who he is and what he stands for.

“Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia. Research into leukaemia meant that Conor faced that four times and was cured. But with brain cancer, there is no cure. That is why there needs to be more investment into research for brain tumours.”

Finding a cure for glioblastoma 

Research we are funding is giving families affected by glioblastoma hope. Our scientists are working at the cutting edge of research to uncover new knowledge about glioblastoma, find new, more effective treatments, and ultimately get us closer to a cure for this devastating disease.

This research only happens with your help. Although brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

By donating today, you can help fuel progress towards new treatments and, ultimately, cures, and give hope to all those affected.

Donate to fund pioneering progress 

  • The team at our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London has developed a world-leading platform to compare glioblastoma stem cells and healthy brain stem cells from the same patient. This allows researchers to find out what drives an individual patient's tumour to grow and if this can be targeted with treatments – the first step in personalised treatment for glioblastoma.

  • Our Research Centre at Imperial College London is investigating new drug treatments for glioblastoma patients and designing wearable technology which will non-invasively monitor patients to better understand their response to treatment between scans.

  • At our Centre at the University of Plymouth, the team is exploring the role the immune system plays in high-grade tumour growth, including glioblastoma, and investigating how this could be targeted to slow tumour growth and make tumours more vulnerable to treatment.

  • Our Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research is working on paediatric-type diffuse high-grade gliomas (a group of challenging brain tumours that include those previously known as paediatric glioblastoma) and is generating the laboratory data needed to support the launch of new clinical trials for children.

  • Home to the UK’s largest group of glioblastoma researchers, our Scottish Centre is dedicated to advancing the development of new treatments, with the aim of producing the evidence required to rapidly progress these treatments into clinical trials for glioblastoma patients in Scotland and beyond.

  • Our newest Centre at the University of Nottingham is undertaking a world-first study which aims to use next-generation genome sequencing, combined with advanced brain imaging and artificial intelligence (AI), to predict the earliest signs of glioblastoma recurrence and identify effective personalised treatments. 
Donate to support vital research

Campaigning for change

We are calling on governments to:

• Increase the national investment in research into brain tumours – including glioblastoma

• Increase the number of clinical trials, and access to them, in the UK

• End inequalities in access to whole genome sequencing that could inform access to trials and emerging treatments

You can help us change the story 

Your donations enable us to build a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence, as well as campaign to increase the national investment in research into brain tumours. Please give what you can and help us get closer to a cure for glioblastoma and all types of brain tumours.

£10 could pay for a month of the everyday lab dishes that are essential for researchers exploring the effects of new drugs on brain tumour cells.

£25 could provide the tools needed for an hour of discovery research by a PhD student in one of our Centres of Excellence, working out new ways to stop brain tumours growing.

£50 could fund two hours of a specialist scientist’s time identifying targets for brain tumour treatments.