The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Cancer Research Initiative (CRI) has awarded three research grants for interdisciplinary research. By leveraging telehealth in the palliative care space, focusing on cancer diagnostics and treatment, and developing a tumour archive which holds patient metadata – these research advances are set to improve the impact of research on people living with cancer.

New diagnoses of cancer are on the rise globally. According to the World Health Organization’s Cancer Tomorrow resource, these cases are predicted to double over the next two decades, primarily affecting low-to-middle income countries. In South Africa while deaths from cancer account for at least 10% of annual deaths, it remains underdiagnosed. Prevention, timely diagnosis and effective treatment of cancer saves lives.

The CRI, based at the university’s Faculty of Health Sciences, brings together basic science, clinical and public health researchers to address the complex burden of cancer. With substantial support from the Cancer Research Trust, the initiative recently awarded three research grants to multidisciplinary teams focused on: improving palliative care services and support for patients with cancer; developing more effective diagnostic, prognostic and disease monitoring applications for cancer and building a comprehensive electronic database of malignant tumour specimens for improved cancer research.

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