Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) The Cancer Research Campaign (CRC)
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independentcancer research organisation.[2][3] It is registered as a charity in theUnited Kingdom[1] andIsle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger ofThe Cancer Research Campaign and theImperial Cancer Research Fund.[4] Cancer Research UK conducts research using both its own staff and grant-funded researchers. It also provides information about cancer and runs campaigns aimed at raising awareness and influencing public policy.[5][6][7]
The organisation's work is almost entirely funded by the public. It raises money through donations, legacies, community fundraising, events, retail and corporate partnerships. Over 25,000 people are regular volunteers.[1]
TheImperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) was founded in 1902 as the Cancer Research Fund, changing its name to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in 1904. It grew over the next twenty years to become one of the world's leading cancer research charities.[8] Its executive committee was chaired bySir William Church from its inception in 1902 until 1923.[9] Its flagship laboratories formerly atLincoln's Inn Fields,London, and Clare Hall,Hertfordshire, and known as the Cancer Research UKLondon Research Institute, are now part of theFrancis Crick Institute.[2]
The British Empire Cancer Campaign (BECC) was founded in 1923, and initially drew a hostile response from ICRF and theMedical Research Council, who considered it a rival.[8][10] "The Campaign", as it was colloquially known, became a very successful and powerful grant-giving body. In 1970, the charity was renamedThe Cancer Research Campaign (CRC).[10]
Incorporated on 20 November 2001,[11] the two organisations officially merged on 4 February 2002 to form Cancer Research UK, the largest independent cancer research organisation in the world (the largest, theNational Cancer Institute, is funded by the US Government).[12][13] At the time of the merger, the ICRF had an annual income of £124m, while the CRC had an income of £101m.[12]
Based on article share during the period between January 2015 to August 2019,Nature listed Cancer Research UK in the top 150 of the Top 200 institutions in cancer research in the world.[14]
CRUK had an income of £718,793,138 and expenditure of £640,845,146 for the financial year ending in 31 March 2023.[15]
The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute
In the financial year 2014/15, the charity spent £422.67 million on cancer research projects (67% of its total income for that year). The bulk of the remaining costs were spent on trading and fundraising costs with a small amount spent on information services, campaigning, advocacy, administration and other activities or was held in reserve.[1]
Around 40% of its research expenditure (27% of its total spending) is on basic laboratory research into themolecular basis of cancer.[17] The remainder supports research into over 100 specific cancer types, focusing ondrug discovery and development; prevention, early detection andimaging; surgery andradiotherapy; and cancers where survival rates are still low, such as oesophageal, lung and pancreatic cancers.[18]
The charity funds the work of over 4,000 researchers, doctors and nurses throughout the UK, supports over 200 clinical trials and studies cancer and cancer risk in over a million people in the UK.[19]
The charity participates in numerouscitizen-science projects including:
Cell Slider – its first project set up in 2012. Samples of breast cancer tumours, taken from earlier studies, were analysed through a web-based application.
Play to Cure: Genes in Space – its first mobile game developed withGuerilla Tea, which originated as a prototype during a 48-hourgame jam. Players plot routes to guide a spaceship in-game, which corresponds to analysis of genetic data.[25][26]
Reverse the Odds – a mobile game based upon 'Play to Cure: Genes in Space' but with greater accuracy, involved completing puzzles and answering questions on lung and bladder cancer samples.
The Impossible Line – a mobile puzzle game spotting genetic faults in breast cancer data, provided evidence that the game aspect lowered accuracy.
Trailblazer – a web-based application looking at tissue samples identifying the presence or absence of cancer cells.[27]
The charity funds networks in seven locations across the UK, to drive collaborations between universities, NHS hospitals, and other research organisations. Centre status is awarded to locations performing the highest quality cancer research, to provide funds for equipment and training.[28] Centre status has been designated to:
Renato Dulbecco: recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, while deputy director of what was then the Imperial Cancer Research Fund.[37]
Through Cancer Health UK, a website written inPlain English, it provides information on cancer and cancer care, and a uniqueclinical trials database.[4] A team of nurses provides a confidential telephone service, the Cancer Chat forum provides a place for users to talk to others affected by cancer, and mobile cancer awareness units deliver health information to locations of high cancer incidence and mortality. It provides statistical information via the Cancer Stats section. It also provides publications for the public to order and download.
The charity worked to bring about thesmoking ban in England and continues to campaign for further action on smoking.[39] The charity lobbies for betterscreening programmes and advises on access to new cancer medicines.
Public participation fundraising events such asRace for Life,Stand Up to Cancer UK and a one off Race Against Cancer, raising £48 million in 2019/20.[40]
Around 600charity shops selling new and donated second-hand goods,[41] generating £10 million profit in 2019/20.[40]
On 18 July 2012, it was announced that Cancer Research UK was to receive its largest single donation of £10 million from an anonymous donor. The money went towards the £100 million funding for the Francis Crick Institute in London.[42]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, CRUK closed its shops and cancelled mass participation fundraising events. They predicted that this, coupled with economic uncertainty affecting people's ability or willingness to donate, would lead to a 30% fall in income that year and a reduction in income lasting at least 3 years.[43]
On 10 October 2025, Cancer Research UK publicly announced plans to close around 190 of its high street stores by May 2027, alongside its online marketplace operations by early 2026, whilst announcing plans to open a further 12 superstores by 2028. The charity cited growing operational costs, inflationary pressures and changes in consumer behaviour as key factors behind the decision.[44]
In June 2011, Cancer Research UK was one of several health charities (along with theBritish Heart Foundation, theAlzheimer's Society andParkinson's UK) targeted by the animal rights organisationAnimal Aid in a series of advertisements in British newspapers urging members of the public to stop giving donations to organisations that fund medical research involving animal experiments.[45][46]
In April 2017, the Information Commissioner's Office fined eleven charities that breached the Data Protection Act by misusing donors' personal data. Cancer Research UK was fined £16,000.[47]
^"Cancer Research UK: What we do"(PDF). Aboutus.cancerresearchuk.org. 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved4 April 2011.
^"Project Press Release". UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation web site. 21 June 2010. Archived fromthe original on 24 June 2010. Retrieved11 August 2010.
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