Our History
Since our first research project in 1980, we have been at the forefront of the regional fight against cancer. Whilst we have always been 100% committed to finding a cure for this disease, it is in the fields of developing new and better treatments, and in early detection, that our world-class research has made the most impact – improving the lives of patients today and giving them as wide a choice of treatments as possible.
Our advances...
Over the past 30 years, there have been many advances in our research which have had a direct impact on the quality of life for cancer patients. For example, in the field of Radiotherapy only ‘standard treatments’ were available up to the mid-1990s. Clatterbridge Cancer Research made significant investment into the development of targeted ‘conformal’ radiation therapy – whereby the beams of radiation used in treatments are shaped to match the tumour, reducing the treatment area and avoiding unnecessary tissue damage. This exact targeting also makes it possible to use higher levels of radiation in treatment – making it more effective in shrinking and killing tumours.
Similarly in the field of Chemotherapy we have been at the forefront of the development of drugs which are condition-specific, rather than being simply determined by variables such as the height and weight of the patient. By analysing the proteins released from individual tumours, our research has helped allow treatments to be tailored to patients to target each individual tumour.
The ‘building blocks’ of cancer research...
We often think about our cancer research projects in terms of being ‘building blocks’ of knowledge. No research is ever wasted and helps contribute to the ‘critical mass’ of data in the fight against this disease. For example one of our earliest projects was based around Angiogenesis (blood vessel growth within tumours). The findings of this research have since been utilised by scientists working all over the world for the benefit of cancer patients globally.
‘Understanding cancer’...
With the right care and treatments, people can now live with cancer for longer – and in increasing numbers they can lead a fuller life.
Finding a ‘cure’ for cancer can often seem a long way off on the horizon. With this in mind, we believe that our focus on improving the quality of life for people with cancer is vital. By investing in research we aim to understand cancer better – how it develops, what different forms it takes and what makes it unique to each sufferer.