New cancer research centre launched in Oxford

Health 16 Mar 11 A new centre has been launched that will cement Oxford's place at the forefront of cancer research. The Oxford Cancer Research Centre is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the University of Oxford and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. It will be funded by Cancer Research UK to the tune of £2.8 million in the first year. The research centre will help set the pace for national and international progress in the understanding and treatment of a variety of cancers, including breast, skin, urological and gastrointestinal cancers. It forms one of the final links in a chain of Cancer Research UK Centres across the country that will pull together world-class laboratory research with medical expertise to provide the best possible results for cancer patients nationwide. Professor Gillies McKenna, head of the Department of Oncology at the University of Oxford said: 'The Oxford Cancer Research Centre will help provide the vital infrastructure to help translate these discoveries into benefits for patients.' Collaboration will be the key to the centre's success, as it will bring together and build on Oxford's existing world-class research in many areas of cancer medicine - from identifying the causes of cancer to improving diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The Oxford Cancer Research Centre will help provide the vital infrastructure to help translate these discoveries into benefits for patients The centre will carry out research on the molecular basis of cancer, as well as work on understanding the genetic and lifestyle factors that can increase the risk of cancer.