Top cancer centres awarded £35 million for research

A network of 17 leading cancer centres has been awarded £35 million by the Department of Health and Cancer Research UK to drive new treatments to patients.

The 'experimental medicine cancer centres', which will each receive £2 million over the next five years, were selected for their scientific and clinical excellence.

They include Barts and the London, Birmingham, Belfast, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Imperial College, Institute of Cancer Research, King's College London, Leeds-Bradford-Hull-York, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Southampton and University College London.

Two further centres, Liverpool and Sheffield, will be under development and will receive grants of around £150,000 each year. Department of Health and the charity Cancer Research UK

The new centres will investigate whether the latest science discoveries and cancer treatments work when tested with patients and also why they work. This research will then allow the treatments to be developed for use in the NHS as quickly as possible.

Health minister Andrew Burnham said: “This important investment in experimental cancer medicine means that cancer patients will receive faster access to improved, safer treatments and the highest quality patient care. The NHS plays a vital role in translating medical advances from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside. This initiative is an essential step that will ultimately lead to improving the care we offer cancer patients and the public.”

24/11/2006