Category Archives: MyProjects

The wisdom of the crowd – using crowdfunding to pay for research

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Money

Crowdfunded research has been discussed in the media

Funding science in the current economic climate is tough, and the economy doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon. At Cancer Research UK, we rely solely on the generosity of the public to keep funding cutting edge science, and we’re always overwhelmed by how far people go to help us. Even so, we have had to make some difficult decisions about what new research we can and can’t afford to fund. In the midst of this squeeze, a new buzzword has started to be bandied around: ‘crowdfunding’.

Offering the promise of cash direct from the public to scientists – this new phenomenon has been touted as a way to ‘turn the taps back on’ for research where funding has dried up. The public too may like the idea of choosing exactly what science is supported, perhaps to help a loved one or to support work in their local area.

Given the recent media coverage about one such enterprise – a project called iCancer that aims to support cancer research in Sweden – and the enquires we’ve had as a result, we thought it was time to look at the whole phenomenon of ‘crowdfunding’.

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MyProjects – improving treatment for lung cancer

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MyProjects

Choose the cancer you want to beat through MyProjects

MyProjects is an exciting new way to support our research into different types of cancer. Simply choose the cancer you want to beat, and directly donate to a project in that area.  And you can set up a Giving Group to raise money with friends, family or colleagues too.

In this series of blog posts, we’re highlighting some of the researchers featured in MyProjects. Today, we look at an important international clinical trial aiming to discover the best treatment for lung cancer.

An urgent need

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK, and more than a hundred people are told they have the disease every day.  Around one in five of these cases is so-called small cell lung cancer – an aggressive form that is usually caused by smoking.

Although researchers around the world have made some progress in developing more effective treatments for lung cancer, survival rates are still poor and there is still a desperate need to improve the situation.

To help change the picture, Cancer Research UK is funding a clinical trial called CONVERT. Researchers are comparing different combinations of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to find the best one for treating small cell lung cancer.

Trial leader Dr Corinne Faivre-Finn explains more about the study in this short video:

Link to transcript

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MyProjects – Discovering new drugs for prostate cancer

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MyProjects

Choose the cancer you want to beat through MyProjects

MyProjects is an exciting new way to support our research into different types of cancer. Simply choose the cancer you want to beat, and directly donate to a project in that area.  And you can set up a Giving Group to raise money with friends, family or colleagues too.

In a new series of blog posts, we’ll be highlighting some of the researchers featured in MyProjects, starting with an important and urgently-needed project aimed at beating drug-resistant prostate cancer.

The dark side of testosterone

The sex hormone testosterone plays many roles in our bodies.  It helps make men into men, pumps up our libidos, and can even counteract osteoporosis. But it also has a dark side – testosterone can help fuel the growth of prostate cancer, the most common cancer in UK men.

Because of this, prostate cancer is often treated with drugs that stop testosterone working, preventing the cancer cells from growing. But unfortunately, this effect often wears off after years or even months, as the cancers develop resistance. It’s then known as hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), and is much more difficult to treat successfully.

Cancer Research UK-funded researcher Professor Simon Mackay is determined to change the odds for men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. As part of our drug discovery initiative, his team is tackling this challenge by searching for ‘smart drugs’ that exploit subtle molecular differences that distinguish cancer cells from their healthy counterparts.

The scientists, based at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, are tapping into a wide range of sources to find molecules that could become the prostate cancer drugs of the future, including purifying promising chemicals from plants. Then they’re developing the best candidates further for testing in future clinical trials.

Here’s a short video about their work:

Link to transcript

You can find out more about Professor Mackay’s research – as well as directly donating towards it – on our MyProjects site.

Kat