Cancer Grand Challenges

In case you missed it 📣 In April, we presented a first-of-its-kind Cancer Grand Challenges session at the #AACR Annual Meeting. The panel brought together leading researchers from our CANCAN, SPECIFICANCER, PROMINENT and Mutographs teams, exploring the breakthrough discoveries driving progress across our challenges. We were fortunate to be joined by host @CharlesSwanton, with insights from Allan Balmain, Karen Cichowski, Mike Stratton and @EileenWhitePhD. Missed the discussion? Read @AACR's recap and key takeaways here ⬇️ aacr.org/blog/2026/06/2…

In the ReMIND trial of tumor-associated antigen-specific T cells in patients w/ pediatric CNS tumors, treatment was well tolerated with one complete response and three long-term responders. @ScientistStephG @dicioccio_a @CancerGrand dlvr.it/TTRCTG

We're excited to welcome @10xGenomics as a sponsor of our upcoming Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: Spatial biology. Thank you for supporting collaboration and innovation in cancer research. With the conference now fully booked, we're looking forward to bringing together leaders in cancer research, technology and clinical practice to explore the future of spatial biology. Make sure you're following us for insights and highlights from the event!

🎉 Congratulations to @manjuggm, patient advocate with Cancer Grand Challenges, on being named one of @oncodaily's 100 Influential Cancer Survivors on Social Media 🎉 Our patient advocates are embedded in every team, ensuring patient voices and lived experiences help inform research discussion and priorities. Their contributions keep cancer research grounded in what matters most: improving outcomes for people affected by cancer. Well deserved, Manju! 👏 ➡️ oncodaily.com/100/100-most-i…

What if one of cancer’s most devastating side effects could be reversed? Cancer cachexia is a debilitating wasting syndrome that affects many people with cancer, yet treatment options remain limited. Team CANCAN has published new research in @ScienceMagazine that highlights a previously underappreciated driver of cancer cachexia: localised signals from tumours acting directly on sensory neurons. This is a big step toward reframing cancer cachexia as not only a systemic metabolic condition, but also one shaped by tumour–nerve communication. 🎥 @ThalesPapaG, Co-Investigator on team CANCAN and team InteroCANCEption, explains the discovery and what it could mean for patients. Read the full paper: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… --- Team CANCAN is funded by @CR_UK and @theNCI through Cancer Grand Challenges.

Turning complex cell therapies into real treatments for children is a major challenge. But new research from the NexTGen team published in @NatureMedicine shows that it's possible - demonstrating a personalised T-cell therapy can be manufactured, delivered, and tolerated in children with high-risk brain tumours. Crucially, the study also improved how reliably these therapies can be produced - an essential step towards making them practical for patients. This is what it takes to move innovative science into the real world. NexTGen is funded by @CR_UK, @theNCI and @TheMarkFdn through Cancer Grand Challenges. 📄 Read more: cancergrandchallenges.org/news/teaching-…

New research from team eDyNAmiC explores the molecular machinery that anchors ecDNA to chromosomes during mitosis, offering new insights into how ecDNA can "hitchhike" during cell division. Published in @NatureCellBio, the study was led by @SihanSean Wu with first author @yipengxie_utsw (@UTSWMedCenter) and highlights a promising potential therapeutic avenue for ecDNA-driven cancers. To read the full paper, visit: nature.com/articles/s4155…

@tubz_here @royalsociety It was great to have you @tubz_here! Thank you for joining us and presenting your work in cachexia

Had the best time at the @CancerGrand , "Cancer and the host," at @royalsociety in London. Learned so much from the best minds in the field and share my PhD research on how a tumor-released hormone affects heart function in cancer cachexia. So good to see my CANCAN team friends!

📰 NEWS: A new study has found that people whose bodies show signs of faster biological ageing may be more likely to develop #cancer earlier in life Image: PROSPECT Co-team leadDr Yin Cao. Credit: Patrick Harrison Read more: oncologynewstoday.co.uk/faster-biologi…

Team PROSPECT has published new findings in Nature Medicine ⬇️ Led by @yincaoScD from @washumedicine, the research found that younger generations appear to be ageing faster biologically, showing a clear birth cohort effect that mirrors the rising incidence of early-onset cancers. 👉Learn more about how these new findings are addressing the early onset cancer challenge cancergrandchallenges.org/news/is-accele… @dranishapatel1 @RuiyiT Team PROSPECT is funded through Cancer Grand Challenges by @CR_UK, @theNCI, the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, and the @Institut_cancer

Congratulations to our poster prize winners at our Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: Cancer and the host! 🏆 1st place was awarded to Rute Ferreira from @TheCrick 🏆 2nd place was awarded to Rashmi Gibikote Nagendra from @CRUK_SI 🏆 3rd place was awarded to Nitya Gupta from @TheCrick A huge thank you to the @AACR Journals, @CellCellPress and @Cancer_Cell for generously providing the prizes.

Three days of discussion at our Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: Cancer and the host are now complete. Thank you to all speakers, organisers and attendees who made the conference possible. It was a privilege to bring this community together, and we look forward to continuing the conversations beyond the meeting. Did you join us? We'd love to hear your insights and takeaways 💬

Mariam Jamal-Hanjani from @ucl closed the conference with a fantastic talk on lung cancer metastasis, taking us from the perspective of the cancer cell, through to its microenvironment, the organ, the whole body and the whole patient.

It’s the final day of our Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: Cancer and the host at @TheRoyalSociety. After two days of rich discussion across disciplines, today brings a final opportunity to build connections, refine ideas and reflect on what’s emerged so far. Follow along for highlights from the closing sessions. #CancerGrandChallenges

@TheCrick @HopkinsMedicine @LoiSher @PeterMacCC @JanowitzTobias Day two complete! One final day to go. See you back here tomorrow 🙌

As part of both her talk and panel discussion on leveraging human physiology against cancer, Ashani Weeraratna from @HopkinsMedicine highlighted the importance of considering ageing, especially frailty, while @LoiSher from @PeterMacCC shared her perspective on the need to take sex differences into account.

Day two of our Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: Cancer and the host is underway! Yesterday set the scene for exploring cancer as a disease shaped by its systemic environment. Today, discussions go even further into mechanism, connection and complexity, starting with the neurobiology of cancer. Follow along for our key insights... #CancerGrandChallenges

@StephenORahilly Thank you for joining us, Stephen!

It was a pleasure to contribute to this interesting discussion.