Brain tumours kill more children in the UK than leukaemia, yet research into the disease remains critically underfunded.
For the many children who survive their diagnosis, the impact can be lifelong, with approximately 62% experiencing lasting physical, cognitive and emotional effects from both their tumour and treatment. That's why we're investing in research that aims not only to save lives, but also to improve quality of life for children beyond their brain tumour. Through our Centres of Excellence and Funded Initiatives, we're working to accelerate progress for children and young people affected.
As we mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, here are four ways we are working to change the story for patients and their families.
1. Developing new treatments for the deadliest childhood brain tumours
At our Centre of Excellence at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Professor Chris Jones and his team are focused on paediatric-type diffuse high-grade gliomas (PDHGGs), including diffuse midline glioma (DMG), one of the most devastating childhood cancers.
Using their extensive understanding of these tumours, the team is identifying and testing promising new drug combinations and treatment strategies to find the most effective options for patients.
The goal is to generate the robust evidence needed to launch new clinical trials. And by working closely with the international CONNECT Consortium, the team will accelerate the most promising treatments from the laboratory to children and young people around the world.
2. Understanding tumours to uncover new treatment opportunities
To develop better treatments, we first need to understand what drives tumour growth. At our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London, researchers are investigating the biology of medulloblastoma, the most common high-grade brain tumour in children.
Dr Sindhuja Sridharan, who has recently stepped into a co-lead role at Queen Mary’s, is focused on understanding how childhood brain tumours, such as medulloblastoma, develop at the molecular level. Her research looks at how proteins inside cells interact with other molecules, and how these interactions change in cancer.
By comparing healthy and cancerous stem cells, her team is identifying the key proteins that may be driving tumour growth and whether these proteins could become targets for new treatments.
Dr Sridharan’s work is helping to lay the foundations for future therapies that are more effective and less harmful for children.
“Our research will open avenues for new drug development programmes, ultimately improving quality of life for children affected by this devastating disease.”
– Dr Sridharan, research lead.
3. Harnessing photoimmunotherapy to target tumour cells
We're also supporting the next generation of researchers investigating childhood brain tumours, to grow sustainable research capacity in the UK.
PhD student Jacob Reeves is exploring how photoimmunotherapy could be used to treat paediatric brain tumours. This innovative approach combines targeted therapy with light to destroy cancer cells and alert the immune system to the tumour, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.
This approach works by delivering a light-sensitive drug to cancer cells. These cells are then exposed to near-infrared light (essentially a bright red light), which activates the drug, disrupting the cell membrane (outer lining) and killing the cell. Crucially, this also alerts the immune system to the tumour, triggering an immune response.
If successful, it could help lay the foundations for a new generation of more targeted treatments for children.
"Thanks to Brain Tumour Research funding, we are exploring cutting-edge treatments for rare and devastating childhood brain cancers, which could improve the lives and outcomes of patients. I’m honoured to be a part of the valuable research happening at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the ICR."
– Jacob Reeves, PhD student
4. Using protein degradation to outsmart cancer
We are also supporting PhD student Carla Fuentes-Guerra Bustos at ICR, who is investigating whether protein degradation technologies can be used to target the proteins that help paediatric brain tumours, such as PDHGG, grow. Building on work by Prof Jones and the team at ICR, which identified proteins that the cancer is dependent upon, she aims to make new molecules to target these proteins and selectively kill cancer cells.
This multidisciplinary research study will involve both biology in Prof Jones’ lab as well as chemistry in the lab of Dr Gary Newton in the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery at ICR. The collaborative approach brings together different disciplines within ICR to translate exciting research discoveries into new medicines to tackle paediatric high-grade glioma.
While there is still much work to do, every discovery helps move us closer to a future where children diagnosed with a brain tumour have access to more effective, less harmful treatments. By investing in world-class researchers and innovative science, we're building the foundations for the breakthroughs that children and families urgently need.
Visit our Childhood Cancer Awareness Month page to find out more about our work to find new, kinder treatments for paediatric brain tumours and to donate to help find a cure for this devastating disease.
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