All medicines need to pass rigorous tests before they can be used by doctors.

The safety of a medicine (or other form of treatment) and how well it works are tested in clinical trials. Clinical trials are studies involving patients. The safety and effectiveness of new medicines are compared to existing medicines or a placebo (a ‘dummy’ medicine). Researchers monitor trials closely and make sure nothing harmful happens to the patients on the trial.

Due to legal requirements, clinical trials have become more and more complex and expensive, with lots of paperwork and inefficient processes.

Because of this, fewer clinical researchers can afford to run non-industry-sponsored clinical trials. Bureaucracy limits the time that clinical researchers can dedicate to their patients. Paperwork draws their attention to irrelevant details, which makes it more difficult for doctors to focus on the important things, such as safety, and use their time efficiently. This inefficiency can result in poor quality studies and may put patients’ safety at risk.

Action Kidney Cancer are members of the Coalition for Reducing Bureaucracy in Clinical Trials.

The Coalition has been working hard to reduce bureaucracy in clinical trials, both for clinical researchers and patients, specifically focussing on: informed consent, safety reporting, and regulatory guidelines.

Read more on our website here:

Lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, diabetes, and high blood pressure are some of the main drivers of a doubling of kidney cancer cases worldwide over the next 25 years, according to a new study recently published in European Urology.

In 2022, nearly 435,000 new kidney cancer cases and 156,000 deaths were recorded worldwide. The international study found if current trends continue, those numbers could potentially double by 2050.

Read more on our website here:

Cancer Research UK publishes the latest cancer waiting times for NHS England.

There are 3 key cancer waiting time standards with associated targets that indicate how well cancer services are doing. Cancer Research UK’s latest article shares the results for July 2025 in England.

Read about what this means for cancer patients on our website here:

A new draft guideline, issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), aims to reduce variation in treatment between hospitals and prevent unnecessary surgery for the removal of kidney tumours.

Action Kidney Cancer has been working hard with NICE to make this guideline a reality.

Read about the guideline on our website here:

Because smoking is one of the main risk factors for the development of kidney cancer, Action Kidney Cancer is supporting the NHS campaign, Stoptober.

Stoptober is back! Join thousands of other smokers committing to quit this October.

Let’s quit smoking together this Stoptober!

Even if it’s your first time or you’ve tried before, now is the perfect time to quit smoking. Make it to 28 days smoke-free and you’re 5 times more likely to quit for good.

There’s no need to go it alone. With the free NHS tools, advice and support, quitting is easier than you think.