During my time at Imperial College London, Stanford, MIT and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh, I have seen the positive impact of the work done by some of the greatest researchers in the world and how it can improve people’s lives. But the benefits of such work came into starker view for me when I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2021.
Under-investment in research on this disease has contributed to a shocking survival rate. Sadly, there are several other cancers — including those of the brain, liver, stomach, oesophagus and lung — that have also been left behind, with dismal survival rates below 25 per cent. Known as less survivable cancers, these make up 20 per cent of cases in the UK, yet cause 40 per cent of the deaths.
Too often, researchers and funders shift their focus elsewhere. And while large projects and research groups have made tremendous progress in many other areas of cancer, now is the time to focus on the recalcitrant and less survivable varieties where the big breakthroughs are yet to be made.