Our research into radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is one of the cornerstones of cancer treatment, along with surgery and chemotherapy. Around 40 per cent of patients whose cancer is cured receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment, and the technique benefits millions of people worldwide.

Cancer Research UK has a long history of research into radiotherapy. In the 1980s we played a crucial early role in the development of precisely targeted radiotherapy called IMRT. And we have developed a new approach to radiotherapy, CHART, which improves survival for people with the most common type of lung cancer.

We're currently campaigning to improve radiotherapy services in England - sign the petition asking David Cameron for an action plan to make sure that the best radiotherapy services are available across the country.

Watch the video to find out more about radiotherapy and our research, or you can read the transcript.

Research into radiotherapy has declined significantly in the UK in recent years. This is why, as part of our five-year research strategy, we’ve promised to provide greater investment in this area.

A major new initiative is the Cancer Research UK - MRC Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology in Oxford, which opened in 2008. This brings together world-class scientists and doctors to transform the future of radiotherapy treatment for people with cancer. And our new Cancer Research UK Centres in Liverpool and Belfast are also pioneering research into radiotherapy.

Below are some of the highlights of our radiotherapy research, and you can find out more about our progress and achievements in our radiotherapy briefsheet.

Bladder cancer
Head and neck cancer
Lung cancer

No specific cancer type
Prostate cancer

Prof Peter Hoskin

Marie Curie Research Wing for Oncology

Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood

New ways of using radiotherapy

Professor Peter Hoskin is leading a number of clinical trials looking at ways of using radiotherapy in combination with drugs to treat various types of cancer including lymphoma and bladder cancer. He is also testing the ability of radiotherapy to relieve severe symptoms such as bone pain that occur when cancers spread.

Dr Anne Kiltie

Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology

University of Oxford, Oxford

How does bladder cancer respond to radiotherapy?

Dr Anne Kiltie is an expert in the biology of bladder cancer. She and her team are investigating how bladder cancer cells react to radiotherapy, to explain why some people’s tumours respond to the treatment while others’ don’t.

Mr Richard Shaw

Division of Surgical Oncology

University of Liverpool, Liverpool

Improving treatment for head and neck cancers

Richard Shaw is a surgeon specialising in the treatment of head and neck cancers. He's running a number of important clinical trials aiming to improve the way that these diseases are treated.

Dr Paula Mulvenna

Northern Centre for Cancer Care

Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

A clinical trial for lung cancer that has spread to the brain

Dr Paula Mulvenna is a consultant clinical oncologist who specialises in improving the quality of life for people who have cancer that cannot be cured. She is based at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne. Dr Mulvenna is co-ordinating a unique national clinical trial called Quartz, funded by Cancer Research UK. This trial is for people with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to the brain.

Prof Alan Horwich

Section of Radiotherapy

The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton

Improving radiotherapy for treating cancer

Professor Alan Horwich is leading clinical research to improve radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment for many types of cancer, focusing on breast, lung, bladder, testicular and prostate cancer as well as lymphoma.

Prof Gillies McKenna

Radiation Oncology and Biology

University of Oxford, Oxford

Improving radiotherapy treatment

Professor Gillies McKenna is a world expert in radiotherapy research. In 2006, he was recruited to the UK from the US to lead the Cancer Research UK - MRC Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology in Oxford. His research focuses on understanding the effect that radiation has on cells and how cancers can become resistant to radiotherapy. This knowledge will contribute to the improvement of radiotherapy techniques so that more people are successfully treated and experience a better quality of life.

Prof Kevin Prise

Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology

Queen's University, Belfast

Understanding the effects of radiation and improving radiotherapy

At Queen's University Belfast, Professor Kevin Prise is working to improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy - around 40 per cent of patients whose cancer is cured receive this treatment. He is a world-leading expert in this area of research.

Dr David Waugh

Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology

Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast

Improving radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer

Although survival from prostate cancer is improving, the disease still claims thousands of lives every year in the UK. At Queen’s University Belfast, Dr David Waugh is investigating why some prostate cancers don’t respond well to radiotherapy. He hopes his research will reveal new ways of improving this mainstay treatment so that more men’s lives can be saved.