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Oxford University's work on precision cancer medicine has received a significant boost after Cancer Research UK announced that it would give the existing Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre Major Centre status and increase funding for research in the city.

Oxford is one of the first to gain Major Centre status, receiving an extra £5 million from Cancer Research UK over two years. The Centre will act as a vital research hub for a network of similar centres, drawing together expertise, encouraging collaborative research, and bridging the gap between innovative laboratory work and benefits for patients.

The new Major Centre strategy will focus on translating Oxford’s world-leading science across a broad range of disciplines, and ensure its translation into the clinic. Benefits for patients will be at the heart of its activities, drawing together expertise from different fields, including those not traditionally involved in cancer research.

Priorities include the development of new immunotherapies and bringing together biologists, physicists, mathematicians and engineers to deliver new treatments. Investment will tie together advances in diagnostics, genomics, surgery, imaging, radiotherapy, and drug development to fulfil the Centre’s vision for precision medicine.

Oxford University's Professor Gillies McKenna, director of the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre, said: 'We look forward to making the most of our role as a Major Centre and leader in cancer research in the UK. The new initiative will bring researchers and clinicians together in sustainable networks with longer term investment. This will allow us to combine the latest developments in radiotherapy and surgery with clinical trials of new drugs, providing the best evidence to guide cancer treatment and enhance cancer cure rates.'

Read the full story on the Oxford of University's news pages.

Listen to the story on BBC Radio Oxford. Coverage starts at 40:24.

Learn more about precision cancer medicine: Precision & Accuracy; A Way Forward in Cancer Medicine by Gillies McKenna.

In the BBC News: Cancer Research UK centres receive £15m boost.

Explore our cancer research.