University given £2m cancer boost

Cancer scientists at the University of Oxford have been awarded more than £2m.

The university was chosen by a panel of experts as one of four research centres in the country to get a share of £50m.

The money will be used to develop cancer imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).

Equipment will be developed to allow scientists to watch cells in action by tracing radioactive markers injected into patients.

Five years

Doctors will then be able to identify earlier which treatments work best for individual patients.

The grants, from Cancer Research UK, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), are part of a nationwide investment in cancer imaging over the next five years.

Professor Gillies McKenna, lead scientist at the University of Oxford cancer imaging centre, said: "We're delighted to have been awarded this grant to further our research in cancer imaging.

"Investing in this important area is vital for improving many aspects of a cancer patient's journey - from detection to treatment."