Manchester is to be at the forefront of the battle against lung cancer as the city’s leading researchers of the disease are uniting with those in the capital.
Cancer Research UK is bringing together leading researchers from the University of Manchester and London in a ground-breaking Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence that launched yesterday.
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and biggest cancer killer in the UK.
Due to lung cancer’s complex biology, developing treatments for the disease have proved tough – leading to poor survival rates for those affected.
Professor Caroline Dive, Manchester lead from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute based at The University of Manchester, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as Cancer Research UK’s first Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence.
“By establishing the Centre jointly at Manchester and UCL, we are bringing together internationally renowned expertise across the full spectrum of lung cancer research.”
The centre will work closely with scientists in London who are leading research into harnessing the immune system to fight the disease.
They perform world class research investigating the complex genetics of lung cancers. Collaboration is the key to success, which will enable researchers who do not normally work together to exchange ideas and information more easily.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death and in Greater Manchester alone, approximately 900 men and 800 women die from the disease every year.
The centre will recruit and train the next generation of clinical and non-clinical lung cancer researchers.
Studentships and fellowships will help to develop junior scientists – harnessing new skills and approaches that can be learned and adopted by all researchers.
Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “For too long lung cancer research has suffered from slow progress, meaning that lung cancer patients have not seen the same impact from research that other cancers have.
“We’re determined to change this.
“Manchester and London each have their own research strengths. By uniting them, we’re building a new force against the disease.
“This new Centre of Excellence will speed up the pace of research, unlocking lung cancer’s secrets and offering hope to the many thousands of people diagnosed with the disease every year.”
Partners in the new centre include: CRUK Manchester Institute, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, UCL Cancer Institute, UCLH Macmillan Cancer Centre and UCLPartners.
Image courtesy of The National Eye Institute, with thanks.
