Brain Tumour Research has published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2025.
The report examines the Charity’s achievements and performance in research, campaigning and awareness-raising, and fundraising. It is published after the Charity achieved a record income of £8.7 million, with research spend exceeding £3.8 million.
The report, which you can read here, spotlights research progress made at our Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence. As we come to the end of the year, we’re sharing a handful of those highlights, each getting us closer to new treatments and ultimately cures for this devastating disease.
Progressing towards new treatments for low-grade brain tumours
Researchers at our Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth have made significant breakthroughs in their work to transform outcomes for patients with low-grade brain tumours, such as meningioma and schwannoma.
These developments have included discovering a promising approach that could reduce the need for invasive surgery and radiotherapy, and identifying a protein which drives tumour cell growth.
We’re proud to have recently announced a £2.8 million funding boost for our Plymouth Centre which will enable researchers to take this game-changing work even further.
The Plymouth team in the lab
Delivering innovative treatments for glioblastoma patients
Glioblastoma is the most common high-grade brain tumour in adults in the UK, with around 3,200 people diagnosed each year. Survival remains poor, with most patients living only 12 to 18 months after diagnosis.
Research taking place across our Centres aims to deepen our understanding of this tumour type and find personalised treatment options.
The launch of our fifth Centre of Excellence – our first in Scotland – was a landmark moment. Funded through a game-changing collaboration with Beatson Cancer Charity, research at the Scottish Centre is dedicated to finding better treatments and facilitating clinical trials for glioblastoma patients.
Clinical trials for brain tumour patients are desperately needed. Our Centre at Queen Mary University of London made great strides with the launch of a five-year trial in which they are comparing healthy and cancerous cells from the same patients, with the aim of identifying genes which could be potential targets for new or repurposed drugs.
The team at Queen Mary has also developed an innovative new technique which enables them to replicate how glioblastoma tumours recur and evolve after treatment. This work paves the way for personalised medicine for recurrent tumours.
Glioblastoma cells (Credit: Queen Mary University of London)
Celebrating outstanding researchers
The stable, long-term funding we award to our Research Centres enables the recruitment and retention of talented researchers who might otherwise pursue other specialisms.
This year, we are funding more researchers than ever, and these scientists are advancing in their careers, establishing their own research groups and accelerating progress towards a cure for all types of brain tumours.
Brain Tumour Research now supports 217 research personnel
Supporting innovation and patient involvement
In addition to funding our network of Centres of Excellence, we support Funded Initiatives which provide researchers with the tools, platforms and resources to deliver outstanding work.
The Brain Tumour Research Novel Therapeutics Accelerator (BTR-NTA) – funded in partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission – has continued to demonstrate its impact in providing invaluable expert advice to research groups. Read about a technology which benefitted from being reviewed by the BTR-NTA.
Another Funded Initiative supported by the Charity is PRIME, the patient and public involvement programme run by our sister charity, brainstrust, and funded by Brain Tumour Research. Alongside adult clinical trial development, PRIME supported the paediatric ‘BRAINatomy’ study, which you can read more about here.
These highlights and so many more have only been possible thanks to our amazing community of supporters. The money and awareness you raise enable us to invest in world-leading Research Centres, scientists who are at the top of their game and initiatives aimed at improving the research landscape – thank you.
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