Oxford East MP Andrew Smith has praised the work of researchers looking into new treatments at the Oxford Cancer Research Centre.
The MP donned a white lab coat to watch scientists in action at the Old Road Campus Research Building in Headington this month. Experts at the centre are working to understand the molecular basis of cancer, and investigating new drugs and surgical techniques as well as finding ways to scan tumours that could improve cancer diagnosis.
The Oxford Cancer Research Centre is a partnership between the charity Cancer Research UK, the University of Oxford and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. Andrew Smith MP said: “This was a great opportunity to return to the centre and see some of the fantastic new research that is being carried out here in the constituency and the impact it has on people in the wider area.
"It highlighted just why it is so important to support this vital work which could make a significant difference to the 41,000 people who are diagnosed with cancer in the South East every year.”
Cancer Research UK spent nearly £25m in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley in 2011 on research, including work at the centre. Scientists are also studying the genetic and lifestyle factors that increase the risk of developing the disease and Professor Gillies McKenna, dead of the centre, said: “I was really pleased to welcome Andrew back to the centre to show him the exciting developments we have been working on over the past year and outline how our work has contributed to the improvement of radiotherapy techniques, meaning that more people are successfully treated and experience a better quality of life.”
