Breakthrough Cancer Research announces second All-Ireland Cancer Network with €1 million investment in Pancreatic Cancer Research on World Cancer Day

From accelerating research into biomarkers, and detecting risk early, to better treatment options, the fund aims to improve outcomes for the c.900 people diagnosed across the island of Ireland each year.

On World Cancer Day, Breakthrough Cancer Research announced a major milestone for cancer research on the island of Ireland launching their second All-Ireland Cancer Network (AllCaN), committing €1 million to a new island-wide pancreatic cancer research programme focused on earlier detection, better treatments and improved outcomes for Pancreatic Cancer – currently one of the hardest to treat cancers.
Every year, around 900 people across Ireland are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Survival rates remain heartbreakingly low, largely because the disease is often found too late and treatment options are limited.

This new AllCaN programme brings together leading researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to change that reality, working as one coordinated team.

Led by Professor Gráinne O’Kane, the multi-year, multi institutional, network will:

Study how pancreatic cancer develops, including the role of gut bacteria and how this may influence immune therapies
Identify biomarkers in blood and pancreatic tissue to help detect the disease much earlier
Develop new models to test and personalise treatments so more people receive therapies that work best for them
Build lasting national research infrastructure to accelerate progress long into the future
This builds on the success of our first AllCaN programme in oesophageal cancer, which created Ireland’s first all-island cancer research network and showed the real power of collaboration across borders.

At the heart of this work are people living with pancreatic cancer and their families, who will play an active role in shaping the research through meaningful public and patient involvement.

NO REPRO FEE Dublin, Ireland. €1 million investment in pancreatic cancer research on World Cancer Day. Ahead of World Cancer Day tomorrow, Breakthrough Cancer Research launches its second All-Ireland Cancer Network (AllCaN) at University College Dublin. Photo shows (l to r) Anthony Gorman, diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in September 2022; Professor Gráinne O’Kane, Consultant Medical Oncologist at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin and Professor at University College Dublin, an internationally recognised clinician scientist in pancreatic cancer; Professor Richard Turkington, Professor of Medical Oncology at the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast and an Honorary Consultant at the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre; Orla Dolan, CEO Breakthrough Cancer Research; Dr. Naomi Walsh, Associate Professor in the School of Biotechnology/National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB) at Dublin City University; Francis Drummond, Head of Research, Breakthrough Cancer Research, as the cancer research charity commits €1 million to a new, island-wide pancreatic cancer research programme aimed at improving early detection and outcomes for one of Ireland’s most difficult to treat cancers. For more see breakthroughcancerresearch.ie. Photographer: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

As Anthony Gorman, who is living with pancreatic cancer shared, “research gives real hope for a future where this disease no longer carries such devastating outcomes”.

This €1 million investment marks a powerful step forward for pancreatic cancer research in Ireland, bringing expertise, innovation and people together with one clear goal: to make more survivors of cancer through research.

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