Cancer

Research into understanding, preventing, diagnosing, and treating all forms of cancer

#11 of 29 research categories by total funding · About £45 per person in the UK

Funded awards

9,409

Published funding

£3.0B

Active funded awards

1,516

NIHR-supported projects

10,307

Amounts are published for 4,287 of 9,409 funded awards. Data as of 16 July 2026.

CRUK funds the most Cancer research — 2,936 grants (31% of the topic). The busiest year was 2019, with 630 grants.

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

View data table

Funder	Funded awards
CRUK	2,936
MRC	1,344
EPSRC	612
InnovateUK	601
NIHR	570
Wellcome	545
EC	485
UKRI	367
BCN	326
BCUK	303

Funded Awards by Year

View data table

Year	Funded awards
2006	325
2007	430
2008	385
2009	375
2010	377
2011	421
2012	367
2013	402
2014	453
2015	538
2016	508
2017	524
2018	565
2019	630
2020	505
2021	532
2022	555
2023	578
2024	565
2025	294

Grants


Enhancing T cell immunity to cancer metastasis	University of Cambridge	MRC	£2.5M	2024	Active
Developing a transformative pan-cancer drug that unleashes the true potential of I/O	Momentous Therapeutics LTD	InnovateUK	£2.0M	2024	Completed
Mutant p53 enhances receptor recycling to enhance invasion and chemo-resistance.	University of Leicester	Wellcome	£832K	2014	Completed
Investigating the role of RAC1 signalling in small cell lung cancer plasticity	University of Manchester	MRC	£681K	2025	Active
Extending personalised modelling towards clinical use in multiple malignancies	University of Sussex	UKRI	£595K	2025	Active
The development of a new first-in-class cancer therapeutic for difficult-to-treat metastatic Triple Negative Breast	Spirea Limited	InnovateUK	£475K	2025	Active
An investigation into T cell inactivity and exhaustion in Colorectal Liver Metastasis and the role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps	—	MRC	£403K	2025	Active
CRUK/22/008: Combination Nivolumab and ASTX727 for the treatment of primary glioblastoma - COMBAT-GB Phase I trial	University of Oxford	CRUK	Not disclosed	2023	Active
CRUK/23/005: Hem-iSmart international early phase clinical trial platform	University of Birmingham	CRUK	Not disclosed	2024	Active
Deciphering the dynamics of melanoma plasticity	University of Manchester	CRUK	Not disclosed	2025	Active
Interrogating the therapeutic impact of MYB overdose brought on by AKT inhibitor treatment in blood cancers.	King's College London	MRC	Not disclosed	2023	Active
Investigating cutaneous T-cell trafficking during treatment with immune checkpoint blockade	University of Oxford	CRUK	Not disclosed	2021	Completed
Mathematical modelling of the role of cell heterogeneity in promoting melanoma metastasis	—	EPSRC	Not disclosed	2022	Active
Melanoma metabolic programmes of metastasis, tropism and immunotherapy response by anatomic site	Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute	CRUK	Not disclosed	2023	Active
Understanding metabolic mediators of immune tolerance in melanoma liver metastasis	University of Manchester	MRC	Not disclosed	2024	Active
Understanding the importance of location within the tumour-bone microenvironment	—	MRC	Not disclosed	2021	Completed
Contribution of autophagy to the maintenance, invasion and metastasis of melanoma stem-like sub populations.	Newcastle University	NC3Rs	£195K	2014	Completed
TCR diversity evaluation as a predictive biomarker of response to immunotherapy	Immunid	InnovateUK	£150K	2016	Completed
Investigation of local brain invasion by cerebral metastases and implications for clinical management	University of Liverpool	MRC	£148K	2014	Completed
Multiscale Molecular Imaging of Immune Cell Variety in the Malignant Microenvironment in Premetastatic Tissue	King's College London	MRC	£125K	2013	Completed

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Cancer

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

Funded Awards by Year

Grants

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