Cancer Grand Challenges, a global research initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the U.S. National Cancer Institute, has awarded $125 million to five international teams of scientists working to address some of the most complex and unresolved problems in cancer research.
Each team will receive up to $25 million over approximately five years to pursue ambitious interdisciplinary projects aimed at unlocking new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. The latest round of funding matches the initiative’s previous record investment and brings total funding for the program to $624 million since its launch in 2016.
The newly funded teams will explore a range of innovative scientific approaches. Their work includes investigating how natural immunity may help detect cancer earlier, identifying hidden proteins in tumor cells that could serve as targets for new immunotherapies, and exploring whether signals between the brain and tumors could be manipulated to slow disease progression or improve treatment outcomes.
One team, called CAUSE, plans to develop technologies to uncover the underlying causes of permanent DNA mutations that drive cancer development. Researchers will analyze subtle chemical alterations to DNA caused by environmental exposures or natural processes within the body. By studying mutation patterns in colorectal, kidney, and liver cancers, the team hopes to identify hidden causes of cancer and create new prevention tools.
Another team, ATLAS, will examine individuals who appear unusually resistant to cancer, including cancer-free centenarians and people with high-risk lifestyles or genetic profiles who never develop the disease. Scientists aim to determine whether distinctive autoantibodies in these individuals help the immune system detect early tumor signals, potentially leading to new methods for cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.
The InteroCANCEption team will study interoception, the brain’s ability to sense and regulate internal bodily states. Researchers will map nerve pathways and brain activity to investigate whether the brain can detect tumors and influence how they grow. The team will also explore whether modifying brain-to-tumor signaling through drugs or neural implants could become a future treatment strategy.
Meanwhile, the REWIRE-CAN team is pursuing a novel approach that challenges traditional cancer treatment strategies. Instead of blocking growth signals in cancer cells, researchers will attempt to hyperactivate them, pushing the cells into metabolic overdrive and triggering stress that leads to cell death. The group will focus its research on colorectal cancer, including early-onset cases that are increasingly affecting younger adults.
The fifth team, ILLUMINE, will investigate the cancer “dark proteome,” a largely unexplored group of proteins whose biological roles remain unclear. Scientists will examine whether these proteins contribute to cancer development and whether they could serve as targets for innovative immunotherapies, particularly in difficult-to-treat cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia, ovarian, lung, pancreatic, and brain tumors.
The program’s leaders say the initiative is designed to support bold scientific ideas that require global collaboration and long-term investment. The five teams collectively span 34 institutions across nine countries and add 42 senior investigators to the Cancer Grand Challenges research network.
Cancer Grand Challenges was established to tackle obstacles in cancer science that no single institution or country could solve alone. The program now includes more than 1,800 researchers across 21 teams addressing 18 major scientific challenges.
The latest funding round was made possible through contributions from several partners, including the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, the Cancer Research Institute, Children Cancer Free Foundation (KiKa), KWF Dutch Cancer Society, Torrey Coast Foundation, and the oncology-focused venture firm Yosemite. Teams will share data, publish findings, and work toward advancing new scientific understanding and treatment approaches over the next five years.
KEY QUOTES
“These new global teams of scientists are tackling questions many would consider too difficult or too ambitious. By bringing together expertise from across the cancer research space, Cancer Grand Challenges is enabling the kind of collaborative science that has the potential to address these truly ‘grand challenges’ and to actually to change how we prevent, detect and treat cancer worldwide.”
Dr. Judy Garber, Vice-Chair of the Scientific Committee, Cancer Grand Challenges
“Achieving impact at this scale is only possible because of the commitment of our co-founders Cancer Research UK and the US National Cancer Institute, together with our coalition of visionary funding partners who share our mission to transform the landscape of cancer research. Their support enables truly bold, high-risk science that wouldn’t be possible through traditional funding routes. By backing this new set of uniquely ambitious challenges, they are helping drive breakthroughs that could redefine how we think about, study, treat, and prevent cancer.”
Dr. David Scott, Director, Cancer Grand Challenges
“Solving cancer’s toughest problems requires scientific courage and collaboration. Through Cancer Grand Challenges, we are empowering teams to pursue innovative ideas that may reshape our understanding of how cancer begins, evolves and responds to treatment. This partnership reflects CGC’s commitment to supporting transformative research that pushes beyond conventional boundaries and accelerates progress for patients in the United States and around the world.”
Dr. Dinah Singer, Deputy Director, U.S. National Cancer Institute
