A charity says a £10 million grant will be used to develop new cancer diagnostics and therapies over the next five years.
The University of Birmingham's cancer trials center has received the funding from Cancer Research UK.
The grant, according to the university, will allow patients with complicated and uncommon cancers to participate in research.
One Birmingham clinical trial participant claimed she "wouldn't be here now" without it.
Just after turning 27, a tumor in a rib bone revealed Francesca Williams to have the rare cancer Ewing's Sarcoma.
She was one of 640 patients from all over Europe who participated in a study run by the Birmingham center to evaluate a novel, experimental treatment strategy.
According to a shorter treatment used in the trial, 6% of patients were cancer-free after three years and it was adopted as a standard across the continent, according to Cancer Research UK.
I'm so happy my dad got me to do it, Ms. Williams said. "I feel incredibly fortunate to have taken part in the trial. ".
Currently cancer-free and expecting her first child in July is the 32-year-old English teacher who relocated to Austria.
The worst thing for me was thinking I wouldn't be able to have kids, so last year, learning I was pregnant, was incredible, she continued.
Over the following five years, the funding will enable researchers on more than 100 national and international trials to continue creating treatments and tests, the nonprofit organization added.
According to Prof. Pamela Kearns, work done at the university's Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit has already improved the management of some forms of prostate cancer and treatments for patients with blood cancers.
The funding renewal was a "major boost" and would hasten advancements in cancer treatment, particularly for children, she added.
