Cancer Research UK

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Logo of Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX

Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness-promotion group in the United Kingdom, formed on the 4th February 2002 by the merger of the Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. It is the foremost cancer charity (charity number 1089464) in the United Kingdom, and the biggest cancer research organisation outside the USA. It is accredited by the UK's National Health Service as a health information provider.

As of 2006, the charity spends approximately £213 million per year on cancer research, supporting the work of more than 3,000 researchers, physicians, nurses and other medical professionals. The vast majority of its funds come from private and corporate donations. It also conducts fundraising events[1], has a network of volunteers, and operates over 600 "high street" charity shops, which stock both new and donated items.[2] It also has a well developed student RAG (raise and give) fundraising programme. In recent years a number of Relay For Life events have been held in the UK (the idea having been imported from the American Cancer Society); their numbers, and the amount of money they bring in, are increasing year on year. The charity has recently moved into the area of public campaigning, lobbying the Government on issues such as smokefree workplaces legislation and long-term strategies for cancer services.

Cancer Research UK is supported by a number of celebrities, including Pierce Brosnan, Timothy West, Michael Aspel, Mel C, and Sir Cliff Richard. The television advertisements shown in the UK are also voiced by Sean Bean. Other means of support include fundraising events such as Race for Life.

Cancer Research UK supports and undertakes cancer research in hospitals, universities and medical schools throughout the United Kingdom, and disseminates information to the general public and the scientific community through its various websites, as well as its twice-monthly scientific publication, the British Journal of Cancer. It also makes information about current clinical trials accessible via its website; as at January 2006, there were 211 such trials open to UK cancer patients.[3]