NIHR funding announced to establish the National Brain Tumour Consortium

19 December 2025 | Campaigning and research, News, Support, Treatments

Hope for our community as NIHR funding is invested to establish a new Brain Tumour Research Consortium

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has today announced key funding which is a significant move towards better treatments and outcomes for brain tumour patients in the UK.

A £13.7 million investment will establish the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, in order to support research into developing new brain tumour treatments in the UK. Further funding for trials is to follow early in 2026.

The new Consortium

The Consortium will bring together 48 hospitals, universities, cancer centres and charities and patients, in a coordinated approach to improve understanding of brain tumours, have earlier testing of new and innovative treatments, and make trials more available.

It will be led by Professor Juanita Lopez, from the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Darren Hargrave of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and Dr Richard Mair from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Lopez said,

I am really excited for this transformational opportunity to build a contemporary, coordinated, national collaboration that will allow the best of science to be taken forward rapidly into clinical trials, and accelerate new drugs all the way to registration for patient benefit.

Challenges and aims

Brain tumours are the eighth most common cancer in the UK but amongst the toughest cancers to treat. So the Consortium will address five challenges contributing to the current lack of new and effective therapies:

• Large amounts of variation. There are more than 100 brain cancer types and even patients with the same type can be affected differently.
• The limited number of new drugs available for testing.
• Insufficient research facilities, research leaders and research staff.
• Shortcomings in planning and execution of research studies.
• Lack of consistent and dedicated support for brain cancer research.

To achieve its aims, activities will include:

• Enrolling patients to a ‘real world’ study tracking their progress in everyday medical settings, then matching them to new clinical trials based on their cancer subtype.
• Developing pioneering new clinical trials, including platform trials, to test interventions such as targeted precision medicines, radiotherapy technologies, immunotherapies, and novel gene therapies.
• Developing new training programmes to build capacity and increase skills among the next generation of researchers.
• Involving patients to ensure their voice is heard throughout.

Hope for patients

Ahead of the National Cancer Plan being released in 2026, today’s announcement places a focus on brain tumours as a priority for research and innovation which could be a pivotal moment.

Emma McKeown, Brain Tumour Support Chief Executive, welcomed the news and said,

This is huge news for our community. Year on year, charities, patient organisations and passionate individuals have worked to campaign and lobby for greater innovation, better treatments options and support, and ultimately more hope for patients. This investment is long overdue and incredibly important for anyone facing this devastating diagnosis. We will ensure that where there are opportunities for our community to be involved we will encourage and support their engagement.

We eagerly anticipate the Consortium beginning its work and the prospect of real progress for patients. In the meantime, we continue to stand alongside patients and their loved ones, to provide all the support possible for anyone affected.