Funded by the Little Princess Trust and administered by CCLG
Lead investigator: Dr Rebecca Hill, Newcastle University
Research team at Newcastle University: Dr Melanie Beckett, Dr Louisa Taylor, Dr S Luli and Professor Steve Clifford
Award: £309,811.00
Awarded March 2026
The challenge
Children with high-risk medulloblastoma, a type of childhood brain tumour, can be very hard to treat. The cancer is considered high risk when it contains, for example, too many extra copies of either the MYCN or MYC gene (MYCN- or MYC-driven medulloblastoma). These genes help the cancer cells grow faster and spread throughout the body. Even when aggressive frontline treatments appear to work, the tumour often grows back (relapses). After a relapse (even for tumours that are not driven by MYC or MYCN), patients are considered incurable.
The only way to improve survival for these children is to change frontline treatment, as it is typically too late to cure patients once the tumour has relapsed. Radiotherapy is an essential part of frontline treatment to cure most medulloblastoma tumours. Therefore, we must improve upon the other frontline treatments such as chemotherapy and be able to safely incorporate any new treatments with radiotherapy.
The project
In this project, Dr Rebecca Hill and her team at Newcastle University will develop two types of medulloblastoma models of radiotherapy to help researchers find the best frontline treatment combinations for MYC-driven medulloblastoma. One tumour model will be grown in the lab and treated with radiotherapy and the other will use mouse models of medulloblastoma. The mouse models will also be treated with radiotherapy, which will mirror how the treatment is delivered to children in hospital (up to six weeks of daily radiotherapy). These models will behave like real tumours do in patients after radiotherapy, allowing researchers to test new treatments alongside radiotherapy, assess safety, and ensure the treatment’s ability to kill MYC-driven medulloblastoma tumour cells.
The impact
Together these models will closely mimic current radiotherapy treatment, helping build evidence around new therapies that can change frontline treatments for MYC-driven medulloblastoma. Dr Hill’s team is also keen to work with patients and families with lived experience of medulloblastoma to prioritise findings and drive change, with the aim of developing similar research strategies to help all children diagnosed with high-risk medulloblastoma.