Cancer trials in Birmingham given £10m funding

Francesca Williams said she benefited from a clinical trial led by the Birmingham centre into her rare cancer

New treatments and tests for cancers will be developed over the next five years through a £10m grant, a charity says.

The money from Cancer Research UK has been given to the University of Birmingham's cancer trials centre.

Patients with complex and rare cancers will be able to take part in research due to the grant, the university said.

One patient who benefited from a clinical trial in Birmingham said she "wouldn't be here now" without it.

Francesca Williams was diagnosed with the rare cancer Ewing's Sarcoma after a tumour was found in a rib bone just after her 27th birthday.

She was one of 640 patients across Europe who took part in a trial led by the Birmingham centre to test a new experimental treatment plan.

A shorter treatment used in the trial found 6% more patients were free of cancer after three years and was adopted as a standard across the continent, Cancer Research UK said.

Francesca said she was now cancer-free and expecting her first baby

"I'm so glad my dad persuaded me to go for it," Ms Williams said. "I feel so lucky to have been part of the trial."

The 32-year-old English teacher, who moved to Austria, is now cancer-free and is expecting her first baby in July.

"The worst thing for me was thinking I wouldn't be able to have children, so to find out I was pregnant last year was incredible," she added.

The funding will enable researchers on more than 100 national and international trials to continue developing treatments and tests over the next five years, the charity added.

Work at the university's Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit has already improved the management of some types of prostate cancer and treatments for patients with blood cancers, Prof Pamela Kearns said.

The renewal of funding was a "major boost" and would accelerate cancer treatment improvements, especially for children, she added.