A woman who lost her son to a brain tumour has welcomed a £2.5m funding agreement to help find a cure for the deadliest of all childhood cancers.
The grant is being awarded to The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) where a team of scientists led by Professor Chris Jones, will form the fourth Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence.
The new Centre has ambitious plans to identify new treatments for paediatric-type diffuse high-grade glioma (PDHGG) brain tumours. PDHGG are a collection of high-grade glioma tumours which include those previously known as brainstem glioma, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and paediatric glioblastoma (GBM).
Niki O’Dea is amongst those welcoming the news. Her son Shayen died from a GBM on 1st September 2020, less than two years after his diagnosis. He was just 13.
“As a parent told your child has a brain tumour, you assume in this day and age there will be something to increase the odds and give you hope. The harsh reality is with this type of tumour there are no such treatments,” Niki said.
“I can’t believe that funding for research into brain tumours continues to be so poor. I am delighted that Brain Tumour Research is funding this important work but we will continue to press for the Government to act now and increase investment to help charities fighting to find a cure for this devastating disease.”
The new Centre at The ICR will act as a crucial bridge connecting worldwide research and analysing findings which will help inform and enable the setting up of much-needed clinical trials. Find out more about here.
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