Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK. Despite this, treatment options remain limited, particularly for patients who are diagnosed at later stages of the disease.
Dubbed 'CRC-STARS'*, this newly funded initiative will bring together over 40 research experts from across the UK, Spain, Italy and Belgium to find kinder, better treatments for the disease, which kills 16,800 people in the UK every year. Joining forces will enable them to use their combined expertise across multiple research areas, and pair clinical trial data with cutting-edge technology.
Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell, said:
“For over 100 years, Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have been working to beat bowel cancer, and this project is one of the most comprehensive for bowel cancer that we have ever supported.
“Together with our funding partners – the Bowelbabe Fund, Bjorn and Inger Saven and the FCAECC – we can empower the CRC-STARS team to speed up the development of personalised treatment for people living with bowel cancer, bringing us closer to a world where people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”
The CRC-STARS team will be co-led by Professor Owen Sansom (Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute), Professor Jenny Seligmann (University of Leeds) and Professor Simon Leedham (University of Oxford). The team of researchers will build on the tools, resources and discoveries developed by existing bowel cancer research collaborations (e.g. ACRCelerate) and Cancer Research UK’s National Biomarker Centre. They will also analyse data from Cancer Research UK-supported colorectal cancer studies such as the FOxTROT, TREC and PRIME-RT clinical trials.
Read the full story on the Oxford Cancer website.