Approximately 7,000 patients in the UK develop primary brain cancer, but there are many more who develop secondary cancer within the brain from different primary sites around the body (such as breast and lung). One of the major problems with primary brain cancer is that it invades the brain widely as single cells and therefore can be difficult to completely remove by surgery. It also can develop resistance to traditional chemotherapy and therefore tumour relapse is common.

The Brain Tumour Research group aims to involve fully understanding each individual’s tumour according to what is driving the abnormal growth of that specific tumour. Then surgery and a range of therapies can be tailored to the individual, providing a personalised medicine approach.

We collaborate with a range of groups including Brain Tumour Research Charities, neuro-oncologists, neurosurgeons, neurologists and Bristol Genetics Laboratory. We are proud to have patient representation on our Brain Tumour Bank committee. The group cell lines recently featured on the cover of Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology 2012.

Our projects and collaborations include:

• Studies into the molecular genetics and biomarkers of brain tumours
• Abnormal pathways driving brain and spinal cord tumours
• Neuroradiology studies using metabolite profiles with NMR to predict tumour behaviour 
• Convection enhanced delivery to improve drug delivery to tumours among many other