Cancer Research UK’s work has saved millions of lives in the UK and around the world.
Over the decades our researchers have made
significant progress in understanding, preventing and treating cancer.
The average ten-year survival rate for cancer has doubled over the past 30 years. Half the people diagnosed with cancer today will still be alive in five years’ time. And more than four out of ten will still be alive in ten years’ time.
Thanks to advances in treatment and care there are now more than two million people alive in the UK who are living with or have previously had cancer.
However, there is much more we need to do
Cancer is responsible for one in four of all deaths in the UK, but our progress has been faster against some cancer types than others.
Although over eight out of ten people with testicular cancer, melanoma or Hodgkin’s lymphoma can expect to live for at least ten years, fewer than one in twenty with pancreatic or lung cancer survive this long.
Through research we can change this picture. We’re funding the work of 4,500 scientists, doctors and nurses across the UK whose world-class research is helping to beat the disease.
Find out more about our progress
What we will achieve
In early 2007 we set ten ambitious goals that, together with our partners, we aim to accomplish by 2020.
Read the details behind each goal
These goals have shaped our
five-year strategy, which focuses on the areas where we can make the most impact and save the most lives.