The Lungs for Living Research Centre opened in October 2015 after a six month period of refurbishment. This refurbishment was funded in part by an appeal led by UCL Hospitals Charitable Foundation. We would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported this project.

Lungs for Living has created a world leading, cutting-edge Research Centre for lung cancer and aims to support the research taking place there. Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in Britain killing 35,000 people a year. To bring it in line with survival rates of other cancers, it is imperative that research into lung cancer is significantly increased.

UCLH and UCL are recognised Centres of Excellence in lung cancer research, with a reputation of being at the forefront of discovery and clinical excellence. We have a rich history in pioneering treatments, running studies and national lung cancer trials.

The Lungs for Living Research Centre has been set up to bring a strong team of researchers together in well equipped, modern laboratories. By doing so, we can maximise and speed up making significant advances in understanding the causes of lung cancer and finding new ways to treat it.

One of the research projects due to begin at the Lungs for Living Research Centre is investigating a pioneering cell therapy that scientists hope will transform the treatment of lung cancer. The treatment uses stem cells taken from bone marrow that have been genetically modified to find and destroy cancer cells. Patients at UCLH will be the first in the world to receive this therapy. Lung cancer patients currently face one of the worst survival rates amongst cancer patients, with only 5% of those diagnosed surviving beyond 10 years. If successful this treatment will offer new hope to cancer patients and their families.

Professor Sam Janes, who is leading the cell therapy research at UCLH said: “Lung cancer is very difficult to treat because the vast majority of patients are not diagnosed until the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. If clinical trials are successful, our treatment could be transformative for the treatment of lung cancer, and possibly other types of tumour in future.”

The Research Centre will pioneer new treatments for lung cancer such as this in the coming years and UCL Hospitals Charitable Foundation will continue to support the cutting edge research of Professor Janes and his team into the future.

If you would like to make a donation towards this work please click on the 'How to donate' tab at the top of this page. Thank you.