The latest news, stories and exciting findings from across the Oxford cancer research community
Medical imaging 'flight simulator' spun out as new company & training tool
3 December 2021
Radiologists at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust & University of Oxford have set up a new company aimed at helping to improve the interpretation of medical imaging by clinicians, for many conditions including cancer.
Increasing the durability of immunotherapy
2 December 2021
Professor Yang Shi’s laboratory uncovers an important role for the chromatin regulator LSD1 in T cell exhaustion and demonstrates that LSD1 inhibition in mice increases the durability of responses to immune checkpoint blockade therapy.
Dr Heba Sailem wins international award for work on cancer gene functions
1 December 2021
The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics has recognised the work of research fellow Dr Heba Sailem with the Early Bioinformatician Award.
Tamsyn Clark awarded Raven prize by British Association of Surgical Oncology
30 November 2021
DPhil in Cancer Science student Tamsyn Clarke is investigating the potential of normothermic machine perfusion to study and enable the targeted delivery of cancer therapeutics to human organs.
Strong immune responses in myeloma patients after two doses of COVID vaccine
29 November 2021
A study of 214 patients with myeloma finds that 93% of them produced T cells as well as antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein after two doses of a COVID vaccine.
New healthcare partnership for Oxfordshire cancer research spin-out
29 November 2021
Oxford University spin-out Optellum have announced their collaboration with GE Healthcare to advance lung cancer diagnosis using artificial intelligence.
New model for infant leukaemia announced
28 November 2021
The breakthrough could lead to development of new treatments for infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
MP Anneliese Dodds tours Oxford cancer research
26 November 2021
Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East & Chair of the Labour Party, visited the University of Oxford to learn more about the impactful work happening across departments in the field of cancer research.
New study confirms an infectious bacterium is a major cause of stomach cancer in China
26 November 2021
Reducing chronic infections from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori would be a key strategy for preventing stomach cancer, according to research published today. To generate conclusive evidence, Oxford researchers used high-quality data from the prospective China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study.
Study reveals ‘stop-eating’ response to DNA damage
25 November 2021
A new study sheds light on the mechanism by which DNA damage suppresses appetite, a finding with implications for understanding the appetite lowering side-effects of chemotherapy.
World’s first cancer prevention trial to test diabetes drug in patients with high-risk genetic condition
23 November 2021
Oxford researchers will lead a £2m national cancer prevention trial to assess the benefit a diabetes drug has in patients with Li Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS), a genetic condition that impacts 1 in 20,000 people worldwide and puts them at a 70-90% lifetime risk of cancer.
Advancing radiotherapy technology through clinical trials
17 November 2021
Rob Stepney participated in a radiotherapy clinical trial in Oxford in 2021. He talks about his experience on the trial and accessing a state-of-the-art machine that uses real-time imaging to improve tumour targeting.
Fewer cases of children’s cancer picked up during COVID pandemic
12 November 2021
An Oxford study of cancer in children and young adults in England has found that fewer patients were diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but cancer diagnosis following admission to intensive care was higher.
Datasets used to train AI to detect skin cancer lack information on darker skin and often incomplete
10 November 2021
Research by Oxford University Hospital academics have found the images and data available for training AI to spot skin cancer are insufficient and include very few images of darker skin.
New symptoms identified to help doctors diagnose pancreatic cancer
8 November 2021
Researchers have identified a series of symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer, including two previously unrecognised symptoms, in the largest study of its kind.
Vaccinated patients who are immunosuppressed from chemotherapy identified as highest risk for hospitalisation and death
3 November 2021
Researchers from the University of Oxford have identified which vaccinated people are at greatest risk from severe Covid-19 leading to hospitalisation or death, from 14 days after the second dose of vaccination, when substantial immunity should be expected.
Identifying early clinical features of myeloma in primary care
1 November 2021
Research by Dr Karthik Ramasamy into the earlier recognition of myeloma symptoms in primary care aims to accelerate myeloma diagnosis.
Impact award for publication on ovarian cancer
26 October 2021
A paper led by Dr Zhiyuan Hu from Professor Ahmed Ahmed’s lab has won the Columbia Hospital for Women Research Foundation’s 2020-2021 prize for impact.
Oxford ranked first in the world for Computer Science
22 October 2021
For the fourth year running the University of Oxford has been ranked first in the world for Computer Science in the 2022 World University Rankings. Many Oxford Cancer members are working in computer science to develop AI algorithms to detect cancer earlier, and implement machine learning into new technologies.
Pancreatic cancer early detection funds awarded to Oxford researchers
19 October 2021
Dr Pui San Tan and Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox receive a Research Innovation Award from Pancreatic Cancer UK to develop a risk tool to predict pancreatic cancer in patients with diabetes.