Research

Yorkshire Brain Tumour Research Centre (YBTRC)

Donate directly to support the Research Centre.

Why do we need a Brain Tumour Research Centre in Yorkshire?

We have long believed that the lack of dedicated brain tumour research centres in the UK contributes directly to the reduced number of groundbreaking research projects which have been seen in other areas of medicine.

For example, if we look back a few years the life expectancy of breast cancer patients was less than five years.  Nowadays, due to the pioneering work undertaken by dedicated researchers and charities working together, we see that picture changing.  Indeed breast cancer death rates in females have fallen by 31% since 1989. *

There are a number of brain tumour research projects in progress around the country, but in order to effect serious change in the outlook for brain tumour patients, we need many more projects to be implemented and supported by charities and medical funding bodies alike. 

Now is the time for brain cancer to rise to the top of the health agenda and for those who control the central budgets for specific scientific research to recognise the inadequate number of brain tumour projects that they fund. 

Why Yorkshire?

It is critical that we provide an opportunity for scientists and clinicians to work together in a conducive environment.   To work to its best ability, this usually involves the cross functional working practices of a number of different people including:

Medical Teams       

From specialised neuro surgery, oncology, nursing and pathology who will provide among other things patient responses and reactions to treatments, tissue samples, support information etc.

 

Scientific Team       

Operating within an academic environment, completely independent and able to use the University resources to aid in the publication of their work;

 

Charity                  

Raising funds to ensure the project begins, and more importantly is able to continue in the long term; to raise awareness of the centre so the team can attract additional funding from other groups and to provide secretarial support and essential communication networks.

In Yorkshire, we have those key boxes ticked and the team in place are determined to make this vision a reality.

We believe that by providing an infrastructure that will link the research centre with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals and the University of Leeds in the first instance, we provide the perfect environment for research together with a plethora of highly skilled experts in the fields identified above. 

Such a facility will attract leading experts in the field of brain tumour research who will be able to work on the cutting edge of technology.  They will be able to study the behaviour of different tumour types, how they react to different treatment regimes and how the patient reacts to such treatments. 

It is everyone’s vision at Andrea’s Gift that we can be part of the process that will one day enable scientists to understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms that cause tumours to form and grow within the brain. The medical teams involved in the treatment of patients will then use this information to develop, assess and exploit new therapies for the treatment of tumours.

By working in this integrated way, new discoveries will be transferred as quickly as possible from the laboratory directly into treatments for patients.

To conclude, we believe that when the Yorkshire Brain Tumour Research Centre is operational we shall see the development of a centre of excellence that will provide leading edge research into an area where too little focus has been invested to this point.

* Reference, Cancer Research UK website at www.cancerresearchuk.org