New childhood cancer research collaborations through C-Further
10 Mar 2026, 10:33 a.m.
We are delighted to announce the first two projects to enter C-Further’s portfolio of developing novel treatments specially for childhood cancer.
These projects are funded by the C-Further consortium, of which Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) are a core partner. C-Further is an international initiative of researchers, clinicians, partners, and impact investors - all dedicated to developing new cancer treatments exclusively for children and young people.
Read more about the funded projects below.
Developing a novel treatment for Ewing sarcoma
Ewing sarcoma is a fast-growing cancer of the bones and soft tissues, most common in children and young people. When it is diagnosed early and has not spread, treatment with chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy can be effective. However, for some children, the cancer has already spread by the time it is found. When this happens, the disease becomes much harder to treat.
C-Further has partnered with teams based at the University of Virginia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital to develop a new treatment for Ewing sarcoma.
The research team are taking a new and targeted approach. They are focusing on a protein that Ewing sarcoma cells rely on to grow and spread. They plan to develop therapy that blocks this protein. By blocking this particular protein, the researchers hope to slow tumour growth and limit the cancer’s ability to spread. This approach could lead to more effective and less harmful treatments for children and young people with Ewing sarcoma.
This research is being funded by the C-Further consortium, with funding split equally between core partners.
Meet Harry
Harry on his ninth birthday
Harry was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in March 2023, when he was six years old.
He was treated with a course of chemotherapy and then surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), and proton beam therapy at UCL Hospital (UCLH).
Harry’s mum, Lyndsay, shares his story: “He had 14 cycles of chemotherapy at GOSH, coming in every two weeks for a couple of days treatment and then going home in between. I remember they said that one of the chemo drugs could have an effect on his heart and that was quite scary.
“He was good at dealing with the tiredness, but he got a bit anxious about the hair loss. He wore a hat to school, and most of his friends were good about it, but kids will be kids and sometimes the hat was knocked off and he was upset about that.
“He had a Hickman line, so he wasn’t able to go swimming, or go to soft play or football because we were worried about it being knocked. Because we had to be careful about infections, he missed out on parties and things like that.
“He had five-and-a-half weeks of proton beam therapy at UCLH, it was every day, Monday to Friday. Towards the end of that he went a bit downhill, his oesophagus was really sore and so he couldn’t eat or drink and lost lots of weight. He had to have a feeding tube fitted and he really didn’t like that. And then he got an infection in it. It was finally removed after a couple of months and then he started to get better.”
Harry rang the end of treatment bell in January 2024.
“We dreamed of the day Harry would ring the end of treatment bell, and when that day finally came, we were overwhelmed with emotion.
“It took a long while for Harry to recover from treatment. He slowly started building his strength back up by playing football and his other favourite sports, basketball and golf.
“We are very proud parents watching him doing what he loves best, and seeing how strong he is now.”
Harry is now nine, and he still has regular MRI scans and follow-up appointments at GOSH, he is also under the renal team as one of his kidneys was affected by the treatment.
“It’s definitely important to develop kinder cancer treatments for kids – to make the side effects easier to deal with, to make them less vulnerable to infections, and to reduce the long-term impact on the kidneys and the heart.”
Innovative new therapy for high-risk cancers
Children and young people with high-risk cancers (those that are more likely to come back or spread) are usually treated with traditional therapies. These treatments can be very effective, and many children respond well. But for some, the cancer comes back. When this happens, there are very few treatment options available.
C-Further has joined forces with a team at MiNK Therapeutics, a US-based biotech company focused on developing drugs for cancer and immune conditions. In collaboration with teams at University of Southampton, this research aims to develop a new treatment for children with high-risk cancers.
This first-of-its-kind project takes a novel approach. The team are developing a treatment using ready-made donor immune cells. These cells have the potential to directly destroy cancer cells whilst also strengthening the child’s own immune system, and do not require harsh pre-treatment. The team will design the cells to target a protein that some fast-growing cancers use to grow and spread. This protein is involved in a number of childhood cancers, including blood cancers, brain cancers and bone sarcomas.
By tackling some of the key challenges of current cell therapy treatments, this approach could offer new hope to children with high-risk cancers.
This research is being funded by the C-Further consortium, with funding split equally between core partners.
Find out more
GOSH Charity joined C-Further as a core partner in 2025, alongside Cancer Research Horizons (the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK) and LifeArc. We are committing up to £10 million over the next four years to C-Further - our largest research funding partnership to date - bringing the consortium’s total funding to £37 million.
The next round of C-Further funding is currently open, with a deadline of 13 March. You can find more information on the C-Further website.
