Building a better future

Cancer Research UK scientists are making advances in ovarian cancer treatments – your pledge could play a vital role in future funding

Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of progress that has seen cancer survival double in the last 40 years, and today the charity is focused on seeing 3 in 4 people survive their cancer for 10 years or more by 2034.

1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime*, with ovarian cancer being the leading cause of gynaecological-related mortality. High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) – the most prevalent subtype – develops rapidly and is rarely diagnosed before advanced stage disease.

To develop new, more effective early detection and treatment, researchers need pre-clinical models that more closely reflect ovarian cancer in vivo – in the body. Current models are now outdated, which has spurred Professor Stephen Taylor – Head of Cancer

Sciences Division at Manchester Cancer Research Centre – and his lab team on to develop their living biobank.

If they could collect and grow ovarian cancer cells directly from patients, they could reveal more about the disease, and potentially discover new drug treatments.

Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has already saved many lives, with the charity’s research helping prove the value of cervical screening which prevents thousands of deaths every year.

Gifts in Wills fund a third of the charity’s research and are vital for accelerating progress to save more lives. If supporters pledge to leave a gift in their Will to Cancer Research UK, and scientists and researchers pledge to continue researching, then together we can beat cancer for future generations.

*Ahmad AS et al. British Journal of Cancer, 2015