Animal research 

We have two state-of-the-art facilities containing a maximum capacity of approximately 6000 rodent cages. These facilities ensure we carry out good-quality research in controlled conditions. Our animals live in an ultra-clean environment in cages that protect them from pathogens. Our facilities provide filtered air, ultraclean water, and sterile bedding and nesting, carefully monitored to maintain a high-quality environment. We enrich cages with items that our animals can interact and play with, as an important part of looking after their welfare. Our Operational team ensure that all equipment and cages are maintained in good condition as well as managing our cage processing facility which includes modern washing and automated cage processing equipment. On average cages are changed every 7-10 days, washed and sterilised before reuse.

Common procedures include giving drugs through injections or through a tube into their stomach. We also do surgical procedures on some mice and rats under anaesthetic – for example to implant tumour cells under the skin.

We will try new treatments in mice before selecting the most promising to take forward into clinical trials in patients. In studies of new cancer treatments, researchers test whether a potential drug can shrink a tumour or slow its growth. To obtain robust and meaningful data, it is important that scientists can accurately measure the size of tumours in mice to see whether the treatment being tested is having any effect.

We often use imaging techniques like MRI, commonly also used for human patients, to measure the size of tumours in mice. The mice will be scanned in small versions of the same machines used for patients in the hospital. Using imaging techniques such as these means that we can reduce the numbers of animals we use in our studies as we monitor the progress of the cancer in a single mouse rather than multiple mice.

The research community is always looking for ways to improve welfare and minimise the use of animals in research. The Institute of Cancer Research strongly supports the principles of the 3Rs – replacement, refinement and reduction of use of animals in research – which have been widely adopted across research organisations.

Replacement - means using alternative experimental techniques that don’t involve animals.

Refinement - involves looking at the way that experiments are carried out, and the ways animals are housed and cared for, to reduce any pain or distress and improve welfare.

Reduction - involves using fewer animals or getting more information from the same number of animals.

Wherever we can we replace the use of animals in research, refine experimental procedures and minimise the number of animals used in experiments. We work closely with organisations such as the National Centre for 3Rs (NC3Rs) and the RSPCA to work on new approaches and technologies to minimise the use of animals and improve animal welfare.

All establishments which use animals in research must have processes for reviewing the ethics of proposed projects and the adoption of the 3Rs. At the ICR this is done by our Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body, which includes members of the public.

Animal welfare is very important to us at the ICR and we ensure that our animals are well cared for. The Biological Services Unit have around 12 animal technologists and care staff responsible for carrying out health monitoring checks and husbandry every single day. To ensure the highest standards of animal care and service to the researchers using the facility, we provide staff with a continuous programme of internal and external training, including formal qualifications, in order to support career progression in animal technology and facility management.

We have led the development of best practice in animal welfare in cancer research, helping develop the Guidelines for the welfare and use of animals in cancer research which are used by cancer researchers in the UK and worldwide. You can read more about the legislative landscape, ethics and welfare.

All research projects at the ICR using animals are reviewed by our Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body, which includes members of the public. The group examines the ethics of all research projects proposed and ensures that all projects consider the 3Rs principles. It must agree that our work is necessary and will be sufficiently beneficial before we can do any research using animals.

The research community is always looking for ways to improve welfare and minimise the use of animals in research and has embraced the principles of the ‘3Rs’ – replacement, refinement and reduction of use of animals in research. You can read more about our work on the 3Rs.

We have led the development of best practice in animal welfare in cancer research. Our former Chief Executive, Professor Paul Workman chairs a committee sponsored by the National Cancer Research Institute which developed Guidelines for the welfare and use of animals in cancer research which are used by cancer researchers in the UK and worldwide.

We have Named Animal Care and Welfare Officers who oversee the care and welfare of the animals at the ICR. The Officer advises our researchers on welfare issues and ensures we do everything we can to minimise suffering and care for the animals we use in the best way we can. We also have a veterinary surgeon who can advise on the health and welfare of animals.

Animal research in the UK is governed by strict laws. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 sets out specific controls over the way research is done.

In the UK research can only be carried out when authorised by the Home Office. For every research project using animals, there must be a licence for the research project itself, for the individual researchers carrying out the project and for the institution where the project is taking place.

Licences are only granted to projects when the potential results can justify the use of animals, where the research can’t be done without the use of animals and when discomfort to the animals is kept to a minimum. The establishment must have appropriate veterinary facilities and look after animals properly. All work must be carried out by highly trained and qualified staff who hold a personal licence and are competent to carry out the procedures, and whose competency is routinely monitored.

In signing the Concordat, we agree to fulfil the Concordat’s four commitments and will report annually on our progress against each of them:

· We will be clear about when, how and why we use animals in research

· We will enhance our communications with the media and the public about our research using animals

· We will be proactive in providing opportunities for the public to find out about research using animals

· We will report on progress annually and share our experiences

The ICR played an active role in developing the Concordat and strongly welcomes its aims to improve communication about animal research.

You can read more about our commitment to openness in this blog post from Professor Paul Workman, Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the ICR, outlining why we are committed to greater transparency about use of animals in research, and explaining why the responsible use of animals is essential.

We have gone beyond the requirements of the Concordat in helping drive best practice in open communication about our research using animals.

In 2014, an episode of Panorama focusing entirely on the pioneering work of the ICR and The Royal Marsden aired on BBC One. The Panorama team was given unprecedented access to ongoing research at the ICR and The Royal Marsden, including our studies using animals. The documentary showed how we are trialling potential new ALK-targeting drugs in mice before aiming to take the most promising candidates to children in clinical trials.

It also followed our work using mouse avatars where a sample of a patient’s cancer is implanted into a mouse to seed the formation of a tumour, allowing researchers to test for mutations that may make the patient’s cancer susceptible to specific drug treatments.