OXFORD scientists are set to receive an £11 million cash boost to help tackle cancer.
The funding, from Cancer Research UK, is part of the development of research hubs across the UK and will be spread over the next five years.
Experts at the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre will use the money to improve work into diagnosing and treating a wide range of cancers in children and adults.
This includes using data to help scientists and doctors work more effectively together, to diagnose and treat cancer earlier.
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Professor Mark Middleton, co-director at the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre, said: “We’ve had a challenging year and Covid-19 has slowed us down.
“But we have not stopped working hard to find new treatments for cancer, and this investment will give us the tools we need to deliver high-quality research that will make the biggest difference for patients.
“This investment means we will be able to further develop our work in translational research – getting cutting edge discoveries from the laboratory to our patients and learning as much as possible from patients to initiate new research.”
Oxford has been chosen as one of seven locations to secure funding, with the centre set to use data from patients to help find new drugs and use existing treatments in a more targeted way.
According to National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) figures, approximately 55,800 people are diagnosed with cancer in the south east of England each year.
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Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “This past year proves, more than any other, the value of investing in science and medical research, and what can be achieved with collective focus and collaboration.
“Just like science is our route out of the pandemic, science is our route to beating cancer.
“Despite the impact of the pandemic on the charity’s income, we are funding some of the best and most promising research in Oxford to help more people survive.
“Survival rates have doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.
“Every step our doctors, nurses and scientists take relies on every pound raised through fundraising, and they need support now more than ever.
“Our determination to beat cancer hasn’t faltered and we are even more focussed on our ambition of seeing three in four people survive their cancer by 2034.
“One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetimes, and all of us can support the research that will beat it.”
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