Improving access to clinical trials
Clinical trials are the single best way to turn advances in science into patient benefits. The ICR has a vision that a suitable trial should be made available for every person with cancer who wants to be part of one.
Expanding trial access – ICR report
Our 2021 report, Clinical trials in cancer, reveals the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on cancer trials and highlights longstanding barriers to expanding clinical trial access to more people with cancer. But Covid-19 also offers clues to a recovery that can get new treatments to cancer patients more quickly.
News: Cancer trial recruitment drops by 60 per cent during pandemic
The number of cancer patients entering clinical trials has plummeted during the pandemic – denying many thousands the latest treatment options and delaying drug development. Here, cancer experts set out their findings about the barriers to carrying out clinical trials in the UK and proposals for boosting participation.Latest ICR News
How advances in microscopy are transforming structural biology at the ICR
At The Institute of Cancer Research, London, our ability to visualise the intricate inner workings of cancer is going from strength to strength. Robbie Lockyer spoke with scientists using cutting-edge imaging techniques to uncover how these tools are helping us understand cancer in unprecedented detail.
Dame Stella Rimington, former Chair of the ICR, dies aged 90
Dame Stella Rimington, who served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, from 1997 to 2005, died on 3 August 2025.
New MRI scan can spot tiny traces of blood cancer after treatment
Whole-body MRI scans provide powerful insights into treatment effectiveness and long-term outcomes for patients with myeloma, an incurable but treatable blood cancer. Results from the iTIMM study led by The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research, London have shown that whole-body MRI scans (WB-MRI) can detect tiny traces of the disease, known as minimal residual disease (MRD), in the bone marrow after treatment. This can provide a crucial insight into how well patients with multiple myeloma are responding to treatment and whether they might relapse - offering a potential new standard in how this complex blood cancer is assessed.
Small fragments, big impact: discovering the 'shearosomes' that drive cancer's spread
A collaborative study reveals an unexpected way cancer spreads through the body – by shedding tiny, previously unidentified fragments called shearosomes as tumour cells squeeze through narrow blood vessels. Shearosomes appear to actively influence their surroundings, supporting the growth of secondary tumours, offering new insights into how cancer spreads.