Cancer is one of the most significant health issues facing the UK with 50 per cent of the population expected to suffer from the disease during their lifetime. It is also a critical area of focus for the Imperial College AHSC.
The partnership draws on the strengths of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust a specialist cancer centre renowned for its research and clinical care, the academic excellence of Imperial College London and the Institute of Cancer Research., and comprehensive cancer services for the local North West London population provided by the other AHSC NHS partners.
The AHSC has an extensive portfolio of multidisciplinary research across tumour types and spanning the translational pathway, delivered through the:
- CRUK Convergence Science Centre, a partnership between Imperial and the Institute of Cancer Research
- The Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit, a partnership between Imperial and the Institute of Cancer Research
- Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Imperial Centre
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research, the only BRC dedicated to cancer research, in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research
- NIHR Imperial BRC, which has relevant research in cancer, surgery and gut health
- CRUK Cancer Therapeutics Unit
- CRUK Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence
- Imperial Ovarian Cancer Research Action Centre
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Evolution and Cancer
- National Centre for Mesothelioma Research
- The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research
- Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre
To further support AHSC objectives to reduce the impact of cancer by developing new approaches to the prevention and early detection of the disease Imperial and the Institute of Cancer Research have established a new joint centre, the Cancer Epidemiology & Prevention Research Unit, and early detection of cancer is a priority theme in the CRUK Convergence Science Centre.
As well as an active research programme the AHSC partners are also championing the implementation of new models of cancer care delivery through RM Partners, an NHS England Vanguard initiative.