Brain Tumour Research has launched an appeal to raise the funds needed to launch the new Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Nottingham focused on the most commonly diagnosed brain cancer.
The Centre will be home to world-class scientists pushing the boundaries of medical technology to improve our understanding and treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Their goal is to create a future where powerful tools like genome sequencing, brain scans and artificial intelligence work together to detect the earliest signs that glioblastoma tumours are returning following treatment. And, based on scans alone, predict the most effective treatment for the recurrent tumour so this can be given before it returns.
Why is glioblastoma so difficult to treat?
Glioblastoma is the most commonly diagnosed high-grade brain tumour in adults. Even with treatment, this highly aggressive brain cancer almost always comes back, and sadly, survival is measured in months.
The first treatment for glioblastoma is surgery. Doctors try to remove as much of the tumour as they can without harming healthy brain tissue. But glioblastoma tumours spread into nearby, healthy areas of the brain. This means that no matter how much of the tumour is successfully removed, some cancer cells are left behind. These cells will keep growing and cause the tumour to return.
Currently, doctors wait until scans show the tumour has grown again before starting another round of treatment. This delay limits treatment options and causes significant anxiety among patients.
When the tumour grows back, it is formed of cancer cells that are often very different from the original tumour that was removed. This means that they often do not respond to the same treatments. So, options for patients are extremely limited.
Targeting the cells left behind that cause brain cancer to return
In a world-first study, researchers at the Centre are taking a closer look at the cancer cells at the very edge of glioblastoma tumours where they grow into healthy brain tissue. Known as the infiltrative margin, these are the cells that remain after surgery and are responsible for the cancer returning. By understanding how these cells differ from those in the tumour’s centre, including how they appear on advanced MRI scans, scientists hope to find new treatments to prevent the tumour coming back.
Professor Ruman Rahman, Principal Investigator at University of Nottingham
How will the researchers study the cells?
The study will involve 50 people with suspected glioblastoma who are being treated at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. Each person will have advanced brain scans, and samples taken from three areas: the tumour core, the tumour edge and the infiltrative margin (where the tumour overlaps with healthy brain tissue).
Researchers will look closely at these samples to understand:
- Are there changes to the DNA (mutations)?
- Which genes are switched on when they shouldn’t be?
- Do these cells have unusual protein combinations not found in healthy cells?
- Is their metabolism different from normal cells?
The aim is to find weaknesses that can be targeted with new or existing drugs – ideally medicines that can be given before the cancer returns, to stop it coming back.
At the same time, the team will work with imaging experts at the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, which is soon to be home to the UK’s most powerful MRI machine. They want to see if advanced brain scans can:
- Show where and when the tumour is most likely to return, helping doctors plan treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy
- Predict what the returning tumour will be like, so doctors can choose the best drugs for each patient to stop their tumour before it grows again
Professor Rahman said: “We envision a future where, ultimately, brain imaging alone will identify drugs tailored to each individual patient, to block glioblastoma recurrence. This change won’t happen overnight – we need sustained investment in brain tumour research to do the vital discovery and clinical work to make our vision of a cure for brain tumours a reality.”
How you can help launch our new Centre of Excellence
We have kickstarted a fundraising appeal with the aim of launching our new Research Centre in January 2026. Every pound adds up and any amount you can donate will help us hit our target, enabling life-saving research and, ultimately, helping find a cure.
- £30 will fund a PhD student for a morning to investigate the cells that cause glioblastoma recurrence to understand how these could be targeted with drugs
- £50 will pay for a day of laboratory materials that allow researchers to map active genes in tumour tissue
- £100 will fund a morning’s work by one of our scientists investigating how to develop new MRI analysis techniques to predict when glioblastoma will recur
You can make a one-off donation or set up a monthly gift in support of the new Nottingham Centre.
If you are a UK taxpayer, you can make your contribution go even further by clicking the box to Gift Aid your donation and for every £1 you give, we can claim 25p extra at no additional cost to you.
Thank you for helping fund the fight. Together we will find a cure.
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