CHALLENGES

A new era of discovery

We dare the very best to come together, think differently and make progress against cancer's toughest challenges.

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Nine new challenges

In March 2023, we announced nine of cancer's toughest challenges for the global research community to take on.

Explore the new challenges

Catalysing a step change in cancer research

Every two years we work with the global research community to identify some of the most complex problems in cancer research – those which, if solved, could make the biggest difference to progress.

Together with our partners, we convene workshops around the world, consulting with researchers, people affected by cancer and other research organisations. We also invite the submission of ideas online.

This rigorous process captures a breadth of ideas that are interrogated by the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee – a selection of the world’s most eminent scientists. Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute make the final decision on which challenges should be posed to the research community.

CHALLENGES

2020
2017
2015

CHALLENGE:

Find a way of mapping tumours at the molecular and cellular level

Focus:

3D tumour mapping

ACTIVE TEAMS:

IMAXT, Rosetta

CHALLENGE:

Understand and reverse cachexia and declining performance status in cancer patients

Focus:

ACTIVE TEAMS:

Cancan

CHALLENGE:

Determine the mechanisms that cause cancer without known mutagenesis, such as obesity, in order to devise novel interventions

Focus:

ACTIVE TEAMS:

STORMing Cancer

CHALLENGE:

Understand the biology of ecDNA generation and action, and develop approaches to target these mechanisms in cancer

Focus:

Extrachromosomal DNA

ACTIVE TEAMS:

eDyNAmic

CHALLENGE:

Distinguish between lethal cancers that need treating, and non-lethal cancers that don't

Focus:

Lethal versus non-lethal cancers

ACTIVE TEAMS:

PRECISION

CHALLENGE:

Improve treatment responses by manipulating the composition and status of the microbiota

Focus:

ACTIVE TEAMS:

OPTIMISTICC

CHALLENGE:

Understand how cells and tissues maintain “normal” phenotypes whilst harbouring oncogenic mutations and how they transition to become a tumour

Focus:

Normal phenotypes

ACTIVE TEAMS:

Prominent

CHALLENGE:

Develop novel therapies to target unique features in solid tumours in children

Focus:

Solid tumours in children

ACTIVE TEAMS:

NexTGen

CHALLENGE:

Devise approaches to prevent or treat cancer based on mechanisms that determine tissue specificity of some cancer genes

Focus:

Tissue specificity

ACTIVE TEAMS:

SPECIFICANCER

CHALLENGE:

Discover how unusual patterns of mutation are induced by different cancer-causing events

Focus:

Unusual mutation patterns

ACTIVE TEAMS:

Mutographs

Unfunded challenges

While all Cancer Grand Challenges have the potential to drive radical progress against cancer, some are not being investigated by teams. Explore these challenges here.

CHALLENGE:

Detect cancer earlier by interrogating medical and non-medical data sets using machine and deep-learning

Focus:

Artificial intelligence

CHALLENGE:

Deliver biologically active macromolecules to any and all cells in the body

Focus:

Biological macromolecules (2015)

CHALLENGE:

Identify and target tumour cells that remain dormant for many years after seemingly effective treatment

Focus:

Dormancy (2017)

CHALLENGE:

Identify and target dormant cancer cells

Focus:

Dormancy (2020)

CHALLENGE:

Determine the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarette use

Focus:

CHALLENGE:

To eradicate EBV-induced cancers from the world

Focus:

Eradicate EBV cancers

CHALLENGE:

Systemically deliver macromolecules to intracellular targets for therapeutic benefit in cancer

Focus:

Macromolecules (2020)

CHALLENGE:

Develop vaccines to prevent non-viral cancers

Focus:

Prevention vaccines

CHALLENGE:

Understand and exploit senescence to improve cancer treatment

Focus:

CHALLENGE:

Develop innovative approaches to target the cancer supercontroller Myc

Focus:

CHALLENGE:

Define mechanistic rules for combinatorial treatments to overcome resistance and avoid toxicity

Focus:

Treatment regimens

CHALLENGE:

Create novel tumour vaccinology approaches that establish or enhance successful immune responses beyond what is revealed by current checkpoint therapy

Focus:

Tumour vaccinology