MPs heard that the disease kills more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer. But despite the death toll, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the devastating disease since 2002.
Flick told the debate that the university has one of the largest centres of excellence into brain tumour research in the world led by Professor Geoff Pilkington, but it needs more funding to continue its 'brilliant' work.
She told MPs that several ‘truly groundbreaking’ research projects were being undertaken at Portsmouth including finding a greater understanding of mitochondrial mutations in brain tumours called Glioblastoma - one of the most common and aggressive tumours.
Work is also ongoing looking at the blood brain barrier - a thin membrane which separates circulating blood from the brain’s extra-cellular fluid but it also stops cancer drugs from getting to the tumour.
‘During my recent visit to Portsmouth University, the message was clear that more funding means that we can accelerate our learning,’ Flick said in her speech.
‘By increasing our funding we can continue to attract and retain the brightest people from in and outside of the UK.
‘Life expectancy, diagnosis and treatments continue to improve for cancers as a whole. However, our current lack of knowledge of brain tumours means that 58% of diagnoses happen in A&E.
For many of these people, their story is one that no cancer victim should ever hear, which is that their diagnosis came too late. The socio-economic effect is that there are 21 years lost for people with brain tumours compared to 13 lost for breast cancer.
‘It is vital that we are supporting more funding to brain tumour research and also a quicker system of getting treatment out to patients.’
The debate in Westminster Hall was sparked following a petition to Parliament signed by 120,000 people asking for the issue to be heard.