We announce record grant funding

World Cancer Research Fund has awarded a record level of funding for research into how diet, nutrition and physical activity can prevent, or help people survive, cancer.

The 19 successful research projects will investigate a range of cancers and risk factors, including the effect of coffee, cow milk and sweetened beverages on cancer, as well as the effect of physical activity on cancer survivors.

For the first time, World Cancer Research Fund has partnered with Cancer Australia in co-funding three research projects based in Australia, which investigate the role of diet, nutrition and physical activity in primary cancer prevention.

We are delighted to be funding so many exciting research projects this year. These research projects will help further our knowledge of the effects of diet, nutrition and physical activity on cancer prevention, and can make a real difference in preventing cancer and improving the lives of people living with cancer. – Dr Anna Diaz Font, Head of Research Funding at World Cancer Research Fund

The 19 new research grants are:

• Dr Laure Dossus, International Agency for Research on Cancer, France, £350,000: Obesity and endometrial cancer: integrative molecular tools to identify the underlying causal pathways

• Prof Dr Michael Leitzmann, University of Regensburg, Germany, £350,000: The combined impact of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and cardiometabolic comorbidities on cancer risk and survival among cancer survivors (PaCoCanS)

• Dr James Thorne, University of Leeds, UK, £349,983: Developing a mechanistic understanding of how nutrient-metabolic gene pathways predict and modify responses to chemotherapy in breast cancer

• Prof Dr Ellen Kampman, Wageningen University, Netherlands, £349,915: Coffee, coffee metabolites, hepatic fat accumulation and colorectal cancer outcomes

• Assistant Prof Bethany Van Guelpen, Umea University, Sweden, £349,700: Exploring the role of inflammation in the link between obesity and colorectal cancer

• Dr Franzel van Duijnhoven, Wageningen University, Netherlands, £349,645: The role of vitamin D in the development of colorectal neoplasms in persons with Lynch syndrome

• Dr Dieuwertje Kok, Wageningen University, Netherlands, £349,055: Folate versus folic acid: connecting treatment tolerance to prognosis in colorectal cancer survivors

• Dr Alejandro Lucia and Carmen Fiuza Luces, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain, £345,119: Exercise and lifestyle intervention for patients with adolescent cancer: a randomised controlled trial

• Dr Tilman Kühn, Queen’s University of Belfast, UK, £330,321: Polyphenols and health outcomes among breast cancer survivors: a prospective biomarker study

• Dr Linda Denehy, University of Melbourne, Australia, £299,684: Rehabilitation after bone marrow transplant to improve patient outcomes. The REBOOT study

• Dr Robert MacInnis, Cancer Council Victoria, Australia, £299,073 (total grant co-funded with Cancer Australia*): Population-level relevance of preventable risk factors on the burden of cancer

• Dr Judith Kroep, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands, £289,834: DIRECT-2: a phase 3 trial on fasting mimicking diet to improve neoadjuvant ChemoTherapy in HR+, HER2- breast cancer

• Dr Neil Murphy, International Agency for Research on Cancer, France, £205,437: Identifying the risk factors underlying the rising rates of colorectal cancer in younger adults: a multi-cohort analyses of more than 3 million men and women

• Dr Sabine Rohrmann, University of Zurich, Switzerland, £98,700: Does planetary health mean population health? Adherence to a planetary health diet and cancer risk and survival in a prospective cohort study

• Dr Timo Bund, German Cancer Research Center, Germany, £60,000: Understanding the role of Bovine Meat and Milk Factors (BMMF) in chronic inflammation and colorectal cancer

• Prof Gail Garvey, University of Queensland, Australia £59,915 (total grant co-funded with Cancer Australia*): A feasibility study of an Indigenous Patient Navigator-led brief health behaviour intervention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer survivors

• Prof Matty Weijenberg, Maastricht University, Netherlands, £59,809: Identifying circadian eating and physical behaviour patterns associated with sleep quality, fatigue and inflammation after colorectal cancer treatment: a pilot study with unique data

• Dr Mitch Duncan, University of Newcastle, Australia, £58,450 (total grant co-funded with Cancer Australia*): MULTI-HEALTH: co-creating a technology based multiple behaviour intervention for cancer survivors at increased risk of CVD

• Dr Alessandro Carrer, Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine, Italy, £54,800: Do sweetened beverage increase pancreatic cancer risk? Interrogating metabolic alterations induced by dietary fructose

*Cancer Australia was established by the Australian government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.