Minderoo Precision Brain Tumour Programme

Clinical Lead: Mr Richard Mair

Purpose: To integrate precision medicine into routine care in the NHS clinical setting for brain tumour patients.

The Minderoo Precision Brain Tumour Programme, in partnership with the Minderoo Foundation, University of Cambridge, the NHS, and Illumina, is a landmark project providing brain cancer patients in the UK with access to a new level of innovation and excellence in treatment and care.

The Programme aims to successfully integrate precision medicine – where genomic information about a person’s tumour is used to diagnose and plan targeted treatment – into routine care in the NHS clinical setting for brain tumour patients. Together with The Minderoo Foundation, a founding member of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, we’re helping to build the infrastructure and the systems required by implementing a workflow across three integrated arms:

  • Genomic sampling and sequencing pipelines.
  • Precision medicine program to inform clinical treatment.
  • Discovery science to identify new therapeutic targets.

Prioritising a genomic medicine approach first to those with a terminal diagnosis will set a new benchmark of treatment, establishing the first-ever precision medicine system for brain cancer patients in the country. Critically, this work will be available for all patients through a local NHS routine neuro-oncology multidisciplinary team meeting.

Strategic Objectives: The Minderoo Foundation, a founding member of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, has committed £1 million with the goal to:

  • Improve our understanding of the molecular drivers of brain tumours and change the culture of clinical care.
  • Build the systems and infrastructure to deliver universal access to targeted and personalised care for patients with brain cancer.

I hope this will give hope to other cancer patients like me, so that we can live well with cancer, not just be dying of it.

Tessa Jowell

© 2023 Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM)