Tumour Microenvironment
Understanding how the tumour microenvironment affects cancer cell behaviour and how it contributes to a cancer cell’s response to ionising radiation is essential in understanding how to prevent the establishment, growth and progression of cancers and how to exploit the tumour microenvironment for therapeutic gain.
Read more
Translational Research
A key aim of the Department of Oncology is the optimal translation of fundamental research into patient benefit. Precision cancer medicine brings together the concepts of biological selection of therapy with anatomical and functional targeting of treatment to deliver the best possible outcomes for a patient with cancer.
Read more
©
Shutterstock
DNA Damage and Repair
Understanding DNA damage and repair mechanisms helps researchers to identify the aberrant processes that drive cancer development and growth.
Read more
Genome Integrity & Epigenetics
Our basic research into genome stability explores how cells repair damaged DNA to prevent cancer. We are also interested in what happens once cancer develops, as it is becoming clear that many tumours are defective in repairing damaged DNA. Our work aims to exploit these repair defects to design novel therapies.
Read more
©
Shutterstock
Metabolism
Metabolism is at the interface of oncogenic signalling, it is essential for tumour growth and all the Hallmarks of Cancer. Additionally, the local microenvironment is modelled by metabolism, which has major influences on the immune response.
Read more
©
Shutterstock
Clinical Trials
A key aim of the Department of Oncology is the optimal translation of fundamental research into patient benefit and for Oxford to become the leading centre for translational early-phase oncology trials in the UK.
Read more
©
Shutterstock
Immunology
In the Division of Cancer Medicine we are working to further understand the interplay between the immune system and cancer across both cancer development and treatment.
Read moreFrom our Head of Department
Welcome to the The Department of Oncology. The Department of Oncology's mission is to improve cancer care through research and teaching. There is strong emphasis on translation, with established infrastructure to develop scientific insights toward clinical appreciation.
The Department houses over 400 staff and postgraduate students - both clinical and non-clinical - and is one of the largest departments in the University of Oxford's Medical Sciences Division. It is also home to the Institute for Radiation Oncology.
One of the key aims for the Department is to bring together basic scientific and clinical research groups from across Oxford - based in the Old Road Campus Research Building, the Radiobiology Research Institute, the Weatherall Institute for Molecular Medicine and the NHS Cancer and Haematology Centre - to apply knowledge of cancer and to develop research so that we may better understand how we can combat cancer in the most effective way possible.
MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology
The mission of the MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology is to explore aspects of radiation biology research that could yield new advances in the treatment of cancer.
Division of Cancer Medicine
The aims of the Division of Cancer Medicine are to understand cancer and the biological processes that govern how it starts, how it behaves and how the body responds to it.
Our News
Tackling the serious side effects of cancer treatment in an ageing population
20 August 2020
Prof. Anne Kiltie and her team discuss their important work into the effects of radiosensitisation on ageing cancer patients with the CRUK Science Blog.
Vice-Chancellor's Innovation Awards 2020
27 July 2020
Congratulations to Professor Anna Schuh and her team who are the Winners of the Teamwork category in the Vice-Chancellor Innovation Awards 2020 for their work on SEREN_A Social Enterprise to deliver DNA-based diagnostics that improves outcomes of children and young adults with blood diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
New digital classification method using AI developed for colorectal cancer
22 July 2020
Understanding the molecular subtype of a cancer is becoming an importance part of the diagnostic process as it helps a doctor better understand a patient’s prognosis, determine the best course of action for treatment and helps researchers devise new, more-efficient, precision therapies.
The CNIO creates a collaborative platform to streamline brain metastasis research
8 July 2020
Professor Nicola Sibson has been involved in the CNIO platform to compile a repository for brain metastasis cell lines.