Action Bladder Cancer UK has granted funding to enable vital research into bladder cancer as part of its annual ABC UK Improving Outcomes for Patients Programme (https://actionbladdercanceruk.org/abc-uk-grants/). The five grant recipients will undertake significant studies, ranging from the analysis of bladder cancer tissue to enhance targeted drug therapies, to the management of patients in hospital settings, and improving the reporting of clinical trial outcomes. These projects aim to advance understanding and treatment of bladder cancer and improve outcomes for bladder cancer patients.
The five research projects are:
- Burst’s WASHOUT project (https://actionbladdercanceruk.org/iopp24-grant-burst/) researching haematuria-related ward admissions. Findings will inform UK best practice guidelines, help standardise care and improve outcomes for high-risk patients.
- The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust research into bladder cancer oxygen levels (https://actionbladdercanceruk.org/iopp24-grant-select/) which aims to create real-time hypoxia signature scores that guide targeted treatments and improve patient survival rates.
- The University of Westminster’s research into the chemosensitivity of bladder cancers with ZFP36L1 mutations (https://actionbladdercanceruk.org/iopp-grant-university-of-westminster/), aiming to identify effective drugs and pave the way for new targeted therapies.
- The B-COS Project (https://actionbladdercanceruk.org/iopp24-grantb-cos/) undertaken by Kings’s College London and the University of Aberdeen is gathering essential clinical trial outcomes from a bladder cancer patient’s perspective to ensure consistent outcome reporting.
- The University of Plymouth’s research (https://actionbladdercanceruk.org/iopp24-grantuniversity-of-plymouth/) aims to identify proteins regulating CDK1 in invasive bladder cancer cells to discover new drug targets and address a significant gap in current treatment options.
Jeannie Rigby, ABC UK CEO, says: “We are delighted to be supporting crucial research into bladder cancer to improve outcomes for bladder cancer patients. Despite the bladder cancer rate of incidence and the high levels of recurrence and mortality, it has long been overlooked in terms of research spending. Other less common cancers have received support and resources and have therefore demonstrated a significant improvement in patient outcomes. We want the same for bladder cancer patients.”
ABC UK’s IOPP grants programme is an annual initiative supporting projects which can demonstrate clear outcomes and improve knowledge of bladder cancer, enable change and have a direct impact on patient experience. The next application round will open in autumn 2024.
For more information about Action Bladder Cancer UK and the research projects that it supports, visit www.actionbladdercanceruk.org or email info@bladdercanceruk.org
