When CUP Foundation – Jo’s friends dissolved as a charity at the end of 2023 we transferred our funds – some £450,000 – to the Christie Charity for CUP-specific work by the Christie Hospital CUP team under the direction of Dr Natalie Cook; the funds to be used for CUP research and for other activities that will benefit CUP patients. Since dissolution we have encouraged our supporter base to donate and undertake activities for the CUP fund with the Christie. Coupled with other CUP fundraising by the Christie Charity itself, as at Feb 2025, a further £35,412.55 has been added to the CUP specific fund.
Dr Natalie Cook reports below on the work of the CUP team at the Christie over the last year. Please continue to support this work.
Activity
In May 2024, Dr. Natalie Cook and the CUP Research team has a taken a more active role in the UK organisation of a national CUP Group following the demise of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). To ensure that funding received has an impactful benefit to patients diagnosed with CUP we have been developing an application process by which investigators and teams from across the UK can apply for project-specific funding. We are in the final stages of implementing a funding process and hope to be able to distribute funds in the next year.
During the months of June and July 2024, funds were spent on the services of a bank data manager to assist with data analysis and publication of the CUP-COMP study. From September 2024 onwards, the Christie CUP research team has employed a research project coordinator for 19 hours a week to support the delivery of the EGG-CUP study and other CUP-related projects.
Impact on CUP Patients
The CUP Research team has continued to hold biannual ‘CUP Club’ public engagement events during this period with primary funding from the NIHR fellowship award to Dr. Natalie Cook. In July 2024, we invited other hospitals actively engaged in CUP Research across the North West of England to approach patients in their care to join a hybrid event. Patients from The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust attended in-person, with those from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust joining remotely.
Future Plans
Preparations for an annual conference for CUP, proposed by the National CUP Group, have begun for the 4th July 2025 event in Liverpool. This will be funded initially by the CUP Foundation-Jo’s friends gift.