Cancer discovery news

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection – a force of nature favouring those carrying advantageous traits and making those traits more common in the next generation – is the central paradigm of biology. Darwin developed this idea to explain the origins of the extraordinary diversity of species on the planet. But it turns out that exactly the same fundamental principle applies to many areas of health and disease, including antibiotic resistance, the emergence of new infectious diseases, the functioning of our immune systems and, not least, cancer.

Professor Mel Greaves FRS talks to us about why The Institute of Cancer Research is launching The Centre for Evolution and Cancer.

ICR researchers pioneer scanning technique that can image a patient’s entire body to reveal where cancer is affecting the bones.

Professor Paul Workman, has been elected as a Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences

Researchers have shed new light on how DNA damage is repaired within cells, in work with important implications for cancer prevention and treatment.

The Institute of Cancer Research enter drug discovery collaboration with Cancer Research Technology and Nuevolution A/S.

The transition from one cell shape to another can be largely explained by the actions of only two key proteins, researchers have found. The discovery could improve our understanding of cancer’s transformation from a localised, often manageable disease to a metastatic and deadly form that spreads to new parts of the body.

Researchers have completed a pilot of a new ‘oncogenetic’ gene testing pathway which is much faster and less costly than standard gene testing pathways

Pathologists have tended to take a fairly straightforward approach to understanding tumours – by simply cutting them into slices and examining them under the microscope. To some extent, they have succeeded in predicting how tumours might behave based on how they looked.

New study shows how a genetic mutation can turn one of our defences against infection into a driver of cancer.

A new type of MRI scan of the lungs that is taken while patients are breathing normally could help track how patients with lung tumours respond to treatment.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury toured new state-of-the-art facilities, including the ICR's Centre for Cancer Imaging.