National Cancer Research Institute

The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a partnership between the government, charity and industry in the United Kingdom that takes a strategic planning role in co-ordinating cancer research. Rather than replace or duplicate any of the functions of its 20 member associations and agencies, it seeks to add value through joint planning, coordination and initiating projects for the benefit of cancer research and, ultimately, cancer patients.

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History

In May 1997, the Prime Minister held a Downing Street Cancer Summit which led to the formation of the Cancer Research Funders Forum, bringing together the main government and charitable agencies that fund cancer research in the UK for the first time.

Ian Gibson MP, a former cancer researcher from the University of East Anglia, called for the creation of a UK National Cancer Institute in November 1998, modelled on the National Cancer Institute in the USA. He used his influence as a member of the British House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology to promote the idea and, in early 2000 the committee held an enquiry into the funding of cancer research in the UK which reported in July 2000, recommending "the creation of a new National Cancer Research Institute to set national research priorities and to co-ordinate and fund cancer research in the UK."

Soon afterwards, in September 2000, the Department of Health published their first NHS Cancer Plan which announced that the Department would work with the Cancer Research Funders Forum to create a National Cancer Research Institute which would take a more proactive role in the strategic co-ordination of cancer research.

The NCRI was formally launched on 1 April 2001.

Activities

The NCRI maintains a database of cancer research in the UK, which forms part of the International Cancer Research Portfolio - a database of publicly-funded US and UK cancer research. The database is updated annually and anaylses of the UK data are published every few years.

The NCRI set up the National Cancer Research Network to provide the infrastructure necessary to improve the speed, quality and integration of clinical trials in the UK.

The NCRI organises the main UK cancer research conference which is held each year in October in Birmingham.

The NCRI has published reports on several key areas of cancer research, including prostate cancer, lung cancer, radiotherapy, palliative care and prevention, many of which have led onto the establishment of specific intitiatives to fund aspects of research in these fields where a strategic gap was identified.

The NCRI has set up a network of experimental cancer medicine centres to ensure that discoveries in basic science are translated into potential new cancer treatments as rapidly as possible.

The NCRI has established the Informatics Initiative, to develop a national bioinformatics platform and common set of tools for data handling, analysis and storage.

The NCRI is setting up an initiative to revitalise UK radiotherapy research by networking and supporting individuals and groups, developing infrastructure and an integrated strategy.

The NCRI is developing a plan to network UK cancer registries and to encourage epidemiological research.

Members

Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry

Association for International Cancer Research

Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Breast Cancer Campaign

Cancer Research UK

Chief Scientist Office (Scotland)

Department of Health

Economic and Social Science Research Council

Leukaemia Research Fund

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

Macmillan Cancer Support

Marie Curie Cancer Care

Medical Research Council

Research and Development Office (Northern Ireland)

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Tenovus

Wales Office of Research and Development

Wellcome Trust

Yorkshire Cancer Research

Sources

Waxman and Gibson - Britain needs a national cancer institute, British Medical Journal 1998 317: 1397

Department of Health website: Research Priority Areas - Cancer (http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/ResearchAndDevelopment/ResearchPriorityAreas/ResearchPriorityAreasArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4032197&chk=pfB%2Bi6) accessed 27 Oct 2006.

NCRI web site (http://www.ncri.org.uk) accessed 27 Oct 2006