Cancer research centre leading the way

The Leeds Cancer Research UK Centre at St James's Hospital is the latest in a network across the country designed to set the pace for national and international efforts to understand the factors which cause cancer and spread the disease.

The centre will draw together world-class researchers and areas of medical expertise in a move which it is hoped will speed the development of new treatments from the laboratory bench to hospital bedside.

It will also take the lead in finding new indicators to help experts better understand and predict the effect of drugs on patients.

Cancer Research UK is setting up a nationwide network of excellence with each centre focusing on specific areas of research to raise standards of care.

Research in Leeds backed by the charity with funding of around 7m each year focuses on bowel cancer, bladder cancer, skin cancer and kidney cancer, with further work into paediatric tumours, lung cancer and leukaemia and lymphoma.

Professor Tim Bishop, head of genetic epidemiology at Leeds University and chairman of the centre's governance board, said: "This exciting new initiative will strengthen our efforts to bring together all cancer researchers in Leeds to work together to improve the lives of cancer patients.

"By building closer inter-disciplinary links with scientists, doctors, chemists, physicists, biologists and engineers we want to increase the pace of research, leading to improved treatments for patients.

"The centre will also help bring treatments straight from the laboratory to the clinic, meaning patients will have access to the latest available treatments."

The Leeds centre aims to be a world leader in developing targeted therapies based on understanding the biology of cancer and how that varies among patients. It brings together researchers and support from Leeds University and hospitals in Leeds and will also strengthen training for scientists.

Chris Twelves, professor of clinical cancer pharmacology, said: "The bottom line with all the improvements we have seen in the last 20 years is that more people are living longer and being cured of cancer but all of these advances which we now consider to be routine have all come about through clinical trials and patients taking part.

"One of the things we will be working on in the new centre is giving more patients the opportunity to go into these trials.

"We know people who go on trials have better outcomes and do better than those treated outside trials and there are obviously benefits for patients of the future.

"It is something we are very fortunate to have here because these treatments are not available elsewhere."

Prof Stephen Smye, director of research and development at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said more than 5,000 patients were recruited into clinical trials and other studies in the city.

"Cancer Research UK funding will support this pipeline of leading-edge biomedical research," he said.

Harpal Kumar, chief executive of the charity, said: "Funding these centres of excellence is one of the charity's priorities."

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