Brain tumours are the most common tumours to affect children, with around 400 diagnoses a year in the UK.
One in five of these children does not survive, and those who do can pay a heavy price as a result of the harm caused by the intensive treatments.
Childhood brain tumours are different to adult brain tumours and need dedicated research funding. Since making brain tumours a research priority, we have invested £1.2 million in five projects specifically focused on childhood brain tumours.
In many brain and non-brain cancers, the whole brain is treated with radiotherapy, either to treat the tumour or to reduce the risk of recurrence. This is an important component of treatment but it exposes healthy brain tissue to the toxic effects of radiation - and this can be particularly problematic in children, whose brains are still developing.
In 2023 we awarded funding to Dr Dan Williamson and Dr Debbie Hicks for a project that sets out to address this problem and reduce the harm caused by radiotherapy. They are setting out to map the brain’s response to radiotherapy, describing the individual cell types and brain structures that are most sensitive to injury. This will drive the development of new drugs to reduce or prevent cognitive problems in childhood cancer survivors, thus protecting their future quality of life.
Diffuse midline glioma (DMG) is an aggressive, incurable childhood brain cancer. It develops in the middle part of the brain (the midline), and the classification includes a tumour called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), which grows in the pons, the part of the brainstem that controls heartbeat, breathing and swallowing.
There are no effective treatments for DMG. Radiotherapy is used to prolong life but is not curative. Almost all children die within 18 months of diagnosis.
Three of our funded projects focus on this most deadly cancer, each focusing on a different genetic mutation found in DMG/DIPG, and aiming to elucidate how these mutations contribute to the development of cancer, and how they can be targeted in treatment. Professor Chris Jones has paved the way for important new treatment approaches through his investigations into the ACVR1 mutation. Dr Manav Pathania is focused on a mutation in a gene called ATRX, also common in DMG. And Dr Kate Atkinson is focused on another key genetic mutation called H3K27M.
To improve the outlook for these young patients, it is essential that we understand what causes DMG and develop new therapies that target its unique biology. This research is taking us closer to this goal.
Medulloblastoma is an aggressive tumour that develops in the cerebellum, an area of the brain that plays a vital role in coordination and movement. It is likely to grow quickly and can spread to other areas of the brain and spinal cord. Aggressive treatment is used to halt this growth - including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy - but despite this aggressive treatment only 6 children in 10 survive. For those who survive, there is an unacceptably high risk of treatment-related side effects.
Lauren Gay was awarded a PhD studentship in 2021 to enable her to work on an alternative, safer treatment approach that could save the lives of young medulloblastoma patients without harming their developing brains. As well as advancing this new type of therapy, through this studentship we are also nurturing the development of a promising young researcher, helping to boost capacity in this under-resourced field.
We need to understand more about the development of these childhood tumours in order to get better at both diagnosis and treatment. We want to accelerate the development of better treatments for all types of brain tumour – to develop safe and effective treatments that will not only eliminate the tumour but will do so at minimal risk of harm to the patient. This is especially important in children, whose developing brains are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
All of our research is funded by the kindness of our supporters. If you’d like to help drive progress, please consider making a donation or signing up to help in another way.
We are always looking for people who are willing to share their stories – to help demonstrate the impact of brain tumours and emphasise the need for more research. If you could help in this way, please email us.
