Improving cancer survival rates across the globe is one of the key ambitions of a multimillion-pound research centre.
The Imperial Cancer Research UK Centre will see more than 200 clinicians and scientists from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London working together to develop breakthrough treatments for the disease, which is responsible for 6.7 million deaths worldwide each year.
The Centre is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, and the Trust and the College, which together make up Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC).
Cancer Research UK already supports research at Imperial but is set to increase its contribution to £8m a year to develop the Centre.
The Centre will build upon the internationally renowned clinical and research strengths of our AHSC in robotic surgery, drug development and cancer imaging.
It will primarily focus on breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer research but being the hub of the West London Cancer Network, the Centre’s work will have a broad remit. For example, the AHSC’s population research into the causes of cancer is already well established and will continue to expand.
The Centre also aims to engage with the community, stakeholders and fundraisers to increase awareness and understanding of cancer in a bid to improve public health.
Professor Charles Coombes, who will lead the Centre, is head of the division of cancer at the College and consultant oncologist at the Trust.
