In January 2025, the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) invited people affected by cancer to join their new patient advisory board to guide the direction of the its research. Read about what’s happened so far, and what they have planned for the future.
What’s the project about?
The Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) aims to use the latest research and science to improve care for people affected by cancer.
In January this year, they invited people affected by cancer to join their new patient advisory board. The board will make sure that everything that the CRCTU does is guided by people affected by cancer.
This will include deciding what research to support, guiding how people affected by cancer are involved in shaping the research, and making sure that the CRCTU’s work will benefit people affected by cancer.
How did Voices get involved?
In January 2025, we invited Breast Cancer Voices to apply for the patient advisory board.
37 people from a range of different experiences of cancer applied for the board. 14 of those had been affected by breast cancer, or were interested in breast cancer research.
What’s happened so far?
14 people were selected to join the board. The board was balanced based on things like
- Area of interest
- Motivation for joining
- Experience of research
- Age, gender and ethnicity
- Experience of chronic illness
They also did interviews to select a Chair to lead the group. They selected Neil Ranasinghe as chairperson.
In June 2025, they held an induction day at the CRCTU in Birmingham for the patient advisory board.
The day involved lots of fun activities such as using Lego to help the group think about their aims and talk about any concerns they have. The board heard from staff at the CRCTU about the different things that they do. This gave them an idea of the range of things that happen at the Unit to make a good clinical trial. They also had a tour of University of Birmingham, and their first meeting as a group to welcome them on board.
The second meeting was in late June. In this meeting, the board members decided what they’d like to focus on in the future, and how they’ll do this.
What are the next steps?
The Patient Advisory Board will meet online every 3 months. At these meetings, they’ll discuss what’s happened since the last meeting and how well they’re meeting their aims. They’ll meet in person once a year.
How do I get involved?
The patient advisory board members will be part of the group for 12 to 18 months. After this, new people will be able to apply to join. We’ll share this with Voices when applications are open.
Get involved
Find more opportunities like this one to take part in projects and create change for people affected by breast cancer.