Doing it for Daniel Foundation

Doing it for Daniel Foundation is generously supporting our research into diffuse midline glioma
Tackling cancer head-on

On Tuesday 13th May 2025, the ICR saw our name in lights on the big screens at the real-life Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Stadium, thanks to our amazing supporters at CBPE!
Megan’s Rose of Hope

Megan’s Rose of Hope is very generously supporting the cancer research of Professor Janet Shipley, Group Leader of Sarcoma Molecular Pathology at the ICR.
Celebrating an outstanding year in corporate fundraising for Terry Fox

The Terry Fox Run UK had its most successful year of fundraising ever in 2024, in no small part due to the generous support of multiple companies from far and wide.
‘Leaving a gift in your Will is to leave a legacy of hope’ - Tina's Story

Tina Regan, 68, has been touched by cancer personally and has seen the devastating impact it has had on her immediate family. That is why she has pledged to leave a gift in her Will to fund our vital research.
Rudy A Menon skydiving
The Rudy A Menon Foundation

The Rudy A Menon Foundation funds brain cancer research including Gliomatosis Cerebri.
Cecelia and wife smiling in a woodland background
Creating new targeted treatment for ovarian cancer

Professor Udai Banerji has led a team responsible for the early development of a new targeted drug for ovarian cancer. This drug, which was created by researchers at our Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, works by targeting a protein called the alpha folate receptor.
Cecelia and wife smiling in a woodland background
Harnessing the immune system to defeat breast cancer

Dr Esther Arwert is working on identifying treatments to enhance the immunotherapy options available to people with breast cancer.
Headshot of a woman wearing a lab coat in a laboratory
Diana Zatreanu, Postdoctoral research fellow

The best thing about working at the ICR is the close-knit family feeling, which improves collaborations and scientific discoveries.
Marika Wiebe-Williams and William Anderson
Meet our Trusts Fundraising Manager

Nicola Shaw works in the ICR's Development Office as Trusts Fundraising Manager. She works with charitable trusts and family-led charities who support the ICR’s research. The majority of these charities have been set up by families who are fundraising in memory of a child they have lost to cancer.
Marika Wiebe-Williams and William Anderson
Marika set to run three marathons in a month for The ICR despite her incurable breast cancer

Avid runner Marika Wiebe-Williams swears cancer will not take her love of running away from her. She takes on the London, Milton Keynes, and Edinburgh marathons in a month to raise money for the Institute of Cancer Research, London, with her ‘running husband’ William Anderson.
Matt Nixon Husky Fundraiser
Matt rode 250km across Norway and Sweden on a husky sled to live by his late grandfather’s mantra

Author

Matt Nixon, 41, from Stratford upon Avon completed an arctic husky trail across Norway and Sweden in honour of his grandfather.
Adam Lee, ICR fundraiser and ultramarathon runner
And I would run 500 miles… for cancer research

Adam Lee, from Enfield, took on 12 ultra-marathons over the course of seven months to raise money for The Institute of Cancer Research and help ‘give something back’ after his mum was successfully treated for breast cancer.
Great North Run 2018 - ICR runners
Great North Run 2018

This year we had 10 fantastic runners joining #teamICR and running the Great North Run – the biggest half marathon in the country. The team came from all over the UK and were up in Newcastle upon Tyne running to raise money for the ICR.
Sarah Sexton and Janet Jennings running together
Fast friends run half marathon around London’s greatest landmarks

Janet Jennings and Sarah Sexton are running the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise money for The Institute of Cancer Research, London, in memory of their mums who died from cancer.
Jess Oldfield - Team ICR London Marathon 2019 runner
Runner inspired by friend takes her place in #teamICR

Jess Oldfield has been inspired to raise money for The Institute of Cancer Research, London, after the death of her colleague and friend Marika Wiebe-Williams, who was a valued member of #teamICR.
Untitled design
Abbie’s Army join #teamICR for the London Marathon

This year, a team of three runners will be taking on the London Marathon for Abbie’s Army to raise money for childhood brain tumour research at The Institute of Cancer Research.
Jenny Walsh Team ICR London Marathon 2019 runner
Breast cancer survivor keeps running as a legacy to her father

Jenny Walsh is running the London Marathon following her recovery from breast cancer and the death of her father from stomach cancer.
Mark Gray - Team ICR London Marathon runner 2019
Marathon runner dedicates each mile to someone who had died from cancer

Mark Gray is running a ‘mile a memory’ at the London marathon. 26 miles will be dedicated to 26 people in Mark’s life who have died from cancer.
Amy Elvidge and her dad Mark at the London Marathon
Inspirational young woman smashes target of raising £21K for the ICR before 21st birthday

Amy Elvidge, a determined young woman from Southend-on-Sea has smashed her goal of raising £21,000 for cancer research before her 21st birthday in September 2019.


Research news

18/02/25

Scientists have developed a simple blood test that will help them better understand children’s cancers - and pave the way for new targeted and less toxic treatments.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, have been trying to develop a less invasive way of tracking how childhood tumours adapt and change in response to treatment.

New findings of the Stratified Medicine Paediatrics (SMPaeds1) programme, published in the journal Cancer Discovery, have successfully demonstrated that circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) testing can be used to give a more complete picture of how a tumour develops over time.

Studying how tumours adapt

During the study, the team looked at samples of childhood tumours at initial diagnosis and circulating tumour DNA - fragments of tumour DNA in the blood - at the time of relapse to see how tumours adapt and change in response to treatment.

In some patients, it could even detect additional DNA mutations that were missed by the original tumour biopsy. 

Since ctDNA testing only requires a blood sample from the patient, the procedure is much less invasive than a tumour biopsy which usually requires a general anaesthetic.

Understanding what drives relapse

It is hoped these findings will pave the way for better understanding of what drives relapse or lack of response to treatment, and with it the hope of developing better, more targeted treatments.

The project, which was funded by Children With Cancer UK and Cancer Research UK, is led by Professor Louis Chesler, Professor of Paediatric Cancer Biology at The Institute of Cancer Research, and Consultant in Paediatric Oncology at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

It builds on earlier research at the ICR made possible by the parent-led charities Christopher’s Smile, Aoife’s Bubbles and Abbie’s Fund.  

The second phase of the research programme (SMPaeds2) also co-funded by Children with Cancer UK and Cancer Research UK, is currently underway and aims to further develop and study new tests that will build upon the success of the first phase of the programme.

Developing tests for clinical use

SMPaeds2 will investigate blood cancers and solid tumours in children and young people, including cancers of the brain, muscle and bone, which can be more difficult to access, diagnose and treat. 

Study author Dr Sally George, Group Leader of the Developmental Oncology group at the Institute of Cancer Research, London and an Honorary Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:

 “We showed that ctDNA analysis can add valuable information and that in some patients it can detect additional DNA mutations that are in the tumour but were missed by tumour biopsy.” 

 “SMPaeds1 is the largest study with matched ctDNA and tissue sequencing to date and shows the value of ctDNA testing for children with cancer. We are working with colleagues across Europe to transition ctDNA analysis from being a research test to being available clinically.  
 
“The project also identifies DNA mutations that become enriched at relapse. This will help us prioritise future research to understand why those mutations are enriched and if we can develop new treatments to target cancers with those mutations.” 

Children with Cancer UK CEO, Amar Naher said:

“We’re proud to be involved in a research project leading the way in advancing precision medicine in the UK. Children with Cancer UK's mission is to create a world where every child and young person survives their cancer diagnosis.

“We strive to meet this mission through funding impactful research. The outcomes from the SMPaeds programmes could help in the development of targeted treatments and could lead to improved, less invasive ways of monitoring and treating childhood cancers.

“By identifying genetic changes that drive relapse, the project helps advance personalised treatments, supporting the charity’s aims to improve survival rates and quality of life for young cancer patients.” 

‘This research is unlocking new ways to study and treat childhood cancers’

Dr Laura Danielson, children’s and young people’s research lead at Cancer Research UK, said:

“We’re excited about this new research from the SMPaeds programme revealing the potential use of less invasive blood tests to better understand solid tumours in children and young people.

“These data demonstrating that analysing ctDNA could lead to a more complete picture of the tumour and how it is changing over time are incredibly important. This will pave the way for better understanding of what drives relapse or lack of response to treatment, and with it the hope of developing better, more targeted treatments.

“We're proud to fund innovative research like this, which is unlocking new ways to study and potentially treat childhood cancers to give young cancer patients the best possible chance to live long, healthy lives."