A new collaboration between Brain Tumour Research and Beatson Cancer Charity has been welcomed by those affected by brain tumours in Scotland.
Together, we are working to raise the funds needed to establish the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at laboratories at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, where world-leading experts will work to find a cure for glioblastoma (GBM).
This news, announced during GBM Awareness Week, brings much-needed hope to the 433 people diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumour in Scotland each year.
In June 2022, our Patron, Theo Burrell, was diagnosed with a GBM – a highly aggressive brain tumour with a devastatingly short average survival time of 12-18 months.
The 37-year-old, who underwent life-extending surgery, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, said: “This announcement is great news for brain tumour patients like me in Scotland. Although I continue to make the best of each day, my tumour will return, and it will kill me. My care has been excellent and new advances in science have helped me so far. However, only by funding research into brain cancer can we get closer to a life-saving cure.”
Claire Cordiner, from Edinburgh, sadly understands all too well the devastation that brain tumours cause after losing four members of her family to brain tumours, three of which were from GBM.
“To know there could be a Research Centre of Excellence opening in Scotland is just fantastic news,” said Claire, pictured with her nephew Max, who died last year, aged 19.
“Nobody knows why this is happening to our family and others over and over again. There are no answers because nobody knows why, so it’s vital we get the funding for this research to happen and for breakthroughs to be made.”
The complexity, diversity and rapid growth of GBM, make it difficult to develop treatments. With funding, researchers in Edinburgh and Glasgow would be able to increase the number of clinical trials for GBM patients in Scotland and improve outcomes.
Find out more about our ambitions in Scotland.
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