Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging

The Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging is investigating new imaging methods to diagnose cancer, and ways in which advances in technology and molecular biology can improve radiation treatment. It is also increasingly concerned with the use of imaging to evaluate the response to treatment in vivo, through techniques measuring aspects of tumour biology.

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Aims, facilities and activity in this division

The division includes the Cancer Research UK Radiation Research Centre of Excellence (RadNet), the Centre for Cancer Imaging, and overlaps with the Joint Department of Physics, which spans The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Researchers in the division are developing methods to more accurately image tumours, making improvements to treatment planning, and implementing and assessing techniques to precisely target beams of radiation. Projects are using 3D imaging and robotics, and include quality assurance to ensure the safety of new techniques in a clinical setting.

The division has long-standing clinical imaging research programmes in computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), together with major projects in ultrasound, nuclear medicine, X-ray detectors and imaging applied to radiotherapy and focused ultrasound therapy.

The ICR’s leading role in the development of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) has helped to change the way that radiotherapy is provided in the UK and worldwide.

Researchers in the division are also interested in developing ways of increasing the effectiveness of radiotherapy by combining it with other treatments – including targeted drugs or viral therapies.

A major research focus is the development of multimodality imaging for evaluating response to treatment in vivo. Novel imaging techniques can provide non-invasive assessments of various facets of tumour biology such as tumour angiogenesis, cell proliferation and hypoxia.

The joint appointments of faculty in this division and the divisions of Cancer Biology, Cancer Therapeutics or Clinical Studies ensure scientific and technical developments are rapidly taken through to testing in the clinic.

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Division leadership

Professor Kevin Harrington

Head of Division:

Targeted Therapy, Magnetic Resonance

Professor Kevin Harrington is Head of the Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging and studies the use of biologically targeted agents, in combination with treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, to target cancer cells selectively. He is a specialist in head and neck cancer and in melanoma, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Radiologists.

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Professor Uwe Oelfke

Deputy Head of Division:

Radiotherapy Physics Modelling

Professor Uwe Oelfke is combining recent developments in cancer biology, cancer therapeutics and medical physics in order to improve radiotherapy treatment and planning. He has had a varied career spanning theoretical nuclear physics and finally medical physics.

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