Overview of Cancer Grand Challenges
Cancer Grand Challenges, a global research funding initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in 2020, aims to unite the world’s brightest minds against cancer’s toughest challenges. These are the obstacles that continue to impede progress and no one scientist, institution or country will be able to solve them alone. Through Cancer Grand Challenges, teams are provided with $25m awards and empowered to rise above traditional boundaries to ultimately change outcomes for people with cancer
In 2024, Team PROSPECT, co-led by Dr. Cao is among the five research teams (out of 176 applications) globally to be awarded for the Cancer Grand Challenges.
“Early-onset Cancers” Challenge: Determine why the incidence of early-onset cancers in adults is rising globally
Since the mid-20th century, the incidence of early-onset cancers, defined as cancers diagnosed in adults under 50 years of age, has been rising globally. In this demographic, cancers in the bone marrow, breast, colorectum, endometrium, extrahepatic bile duct, gallbladder, head and neck, kidney, liver, oesophagus, pancreas, prostate, stomach, and thyroid have increased globally. Some of this may be attributed to the increased implementation of screening programs, but this does not explain the full picture. Changes in the exposome and the environment in recent generations may in part explain this observation, including changes in diet, the microbiome, physical activity, obesity, alcohol consumption, sleep patterns, antibiotics use, stress levels, pollution, or environmental contaminants among others. Understanding and preventing the increase in the incidence of early-onset cancers is now critical to address this emerging global health problem.
Team PROSPECT
Team PROSPECT (Pathways, Risk factors , and mOlecueS to Prevent Early-onset Colorectal Tumors) aims to unravel and ultimately reverse the complex network of life course causal factors that disrupt biological homeostasis and promote colorectal cancer in individuals under 50.
Building upon our lab’s prior work (Figure 1) and by uniting leading scientific minds in other fields (Figure 2), we will employ disruptive, transdisciplinary approaches spanning cells, individuals and populations to to uncover the mechanisms linking lifetime exposures to early-onset colorectal cancer, and test new preventive strategies to combat this cancer type.
