Our research into finding cancer genes
Cancer Research UK scientists are leading the world in groundbreaking research to find genes that increase the risk of cancer. Their work is revealing new opportunities for preventing, diagnosing and treating different forms of the disease.
Over the last decade or so, scientists have found that the variations in our genes that make each of us unique, also affect our overall risk of developing cancer.
Our scientists have contributed to pioneering work in this field by identifying many gene variants associated with the most common types of cancer including breast, lung, bowel and prostate. We continue to build on these findings so that one day doctors may be able to identify and manage people who are more susceptible to developing certain forms of the disease.
Below are some of the highlights of our research hunting for new cancer genes.
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Bowel cancer
Prof Malcolm Dunlop
Department of Surgery, MRC Human Genetics Unit
Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
The genetic causes of bowel cancer
Professor Malcolm Dunlop is leading research into the genetic and environmental causes of bowel cancer at the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh. Bowel cancer is the UK's third most common cancer and Scotland itself has one of the highest rates of this disease in the world.
Prof Richard Houlston
Molecular and Population Genetics Team
The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Genes and cancer
Professor Richard Houlston and his team are searching for cancer genes. They are carrying out large-scale studies of human populations to discover genetic faults that increase the risk of certain types of cancer including bowel, brain and lung. They are also searching for genes that influence a person's sensitivity to the effects of radiation.
Prof Ian Tomlinson
Population and Functional Genetics Laboratory
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford
Genes and bowel cancer
Professor Ian Tomlinson is Head of the Population and Functional Genetics Lab at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford. His main research interest is cancer genetics, focusing particularly on the genes involved in bowel cancer.
Breast cancer
Prof Alan Ashworth
Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre
Institute of Cancer Research, London
Understanding the genes that increase breast cancer risk
Professor Alan Ashworth is Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and leads the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Gene Function team, which is studying how certain faulty genes can increase a person's risk of developing breast cancer. Thousands of women with a strong family history of breast cancer now benefit from research like this, which has enabled doctors to offer them tailored advice, screening and treatment.
Prof Carlos Caldas
Breast cancer functional genomics
Cambridge Research Institute, Cambridge
How damaged genes can cause breast cancer
At our prestigious Cambridge Research Institute, Professor Carlos Caldas is leading a team that aims to identify some of the genes that go wrong when a woman develops breast cancer. To achieve this they are screening thousands of tissue samples.
Prof Doug Easton
Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Hunting cancer susceptibility genes
Professor Douglas Easton is director of the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group at the University of Cambridge. He is world-renowned for his research into genes that affect our risk of common cancers, particularly breast cancer. His team also works on ovarian and prostate cancer, and melanoma. Their findings will help identify high-risk individuals and could lead to new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating the disease in the future.
Prof Julian Peto
Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology Unit
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London
Epidemiology, genes and cancer
Professor Julian Peto is the Chair of Epidemiology at The Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey. His group conducts large population-based studies and genetic research into several cancers, including breast cancer, cervical cancer and mesothelioma.
Dr Paul Pharoah
Department of Oncology, Strangeways Laboratories
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Genetic variation and cancer risk
Dr Paul Pharoah works at the University of Cambridge, studying how a person's genes, lifestyle and environment interact to determine their cancer risk. In particular, Dr Pharoah is hoping to identify small genetic differences that may affect a person's risk of breast cancer or how they will respond to treatment. He is also investigating the genes and risk factors involved in ovarian cancer.
Prof Bruce Ponder
Cancer Research UK Human Cancer Genetics Research Group
Cambridge Research Institute, Cambridge
Hunting cancer genes
Professor Sir Bruce Ponder is Director and Professor of Oncology at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute. He is world-renowned for his pioneering research into discovering genes that affect our risk of common cancers, particularly breast cancer. He is also investigating the genetics of oesophageal cancer.
Prof Nazneen Rahman
Section of Cancer Genetics
The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Searching for genes in breast and childhood cancers
Professor Nazneen Rahman is Professor of Human Genetics and Section Chair of Cancer Genetics at The Institute of Cancer Research. She leads two research teams who are making excellent progress identifying genes associated with an increased risk of breast and childhood cancers.
Children's cancers
Prof Kathy Pritchard-Jones
Institute of Child Health
University College London, London
Investigating the genetics of children's cancer
Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones is one of the UK's foremost experts in childhood cancer, and programme director for cancer at University College London (UCL). She and her team of dedicated scientists and clinicians are carrying out research at the Institute of Child Health - part of UCL. Their aim is to identify genetic faults that can lead to certain childhood cancers. This could help predict how well a child could respond to treatment, whether the cancer will return and how long a child will survive.
Prof Nazneen Rahman
Section of Cancer Genetics
The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Searching for genes in breast and childhood cancers
Professor Nazneen Rahman is Professor of Human Genetics and Section Chair of Cancer Genetics at The Institute of Cancer Research. She leads two research teams who are making excellent progress identifying genes associated with an increased risk of breast and childhood cancers.
Dr Janet Shipley
Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis
The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Studying faulty genes in childhood cancer
Dr Janet Shipley leads the Molecular Cytogenetics Team at The Institute of Cancer Research. She is investigating how faulty genes lead to the development of a type of childhood cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. Some forms of this disease are very difficult to treat, so new approaches are urgently needed. Dr Shipley's research is revealing new targets for the development of drugs to improve the outcome for children with rhabdomyosarcoma.
Eye cancer
Dr Sarah Coupland
Pathology Department
University of Liverpool, Liverpool
Understanding melanoma of the eye
Dr Sarah Coupland specialises in uveal melanoma – a rare type of cancer that starts in the eye. She and her team at the University of Liverpool are investigating the gene faults that can lead to uveal melanoma, with the aim of developing more effective treatments in the future.
Leukaemia
Prof Jim Neil
Molecular Oncology Laboratory
University of Glasgow, Glasgow
Investigating the faulty genes in leukaemia
Professor Jim Neil is an expert in the faulty genes at the heart of leukaemia – cancer of white blood cells. He and his team at the University of Glasgow are investigating a family of genes called RUNX, which are involved in the development of healthy blood cells, but can also drive the growth of leukaemia if they are faulty.
Professor Claus Nerlov
Institute for Stem Cell Research
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Stem cells and faulty genes at the heart of cancer
Professor Claus Nerlov is an expert in stem cells – the ‘immortal’ cells that produce all the different tissues of the body. There is an increasing amount of evidence to show that rogue stem cells may lie at the heart of many different types of cancer, including leukaemia. Professor Nerlov and his team are searching for the faulty genes that drive the growth of leukaemia stem cells, and developing drugs to target them.
Prof Kathy Pritchard-Jones
Institute of Child Health
University College London, London
Investigating the genetics of children's cancer
Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones is one of the UK's foremost experts in childhood cancer, and programme director for cancer at University College London (UCL). She and her team of dedicated scientists and clinicians are carrying out research at the Institute of Child Health - part of UCL. Their aim is to identify genetic faults that can lead to certain childhood cancers. This could help predict how well a child could respond to treatment, whether the cancer will return and how long a child will survive.
Prof Bryan Young
Medical Oncology Laboratory
Barts & the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, London
Investigating faulty genes that cause leukaemia
Professor Bryan Young is studying the faulty genes and molecules that lead to leukaemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. His research focuses on acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the commonest leukaemia in adults.
Lung cancer
Prof Tim Eisen
Department of Oncology, Addenbrooke's Hospital
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Finding new ways to prevent and treat cancer
Professor Tim Eisen, based at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, is one of the leading cancer doctors in the UK. He oversees a broad spectrum of research ranging from work on cancer genetics through to studies in the clinic. As Director of the Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre, he co-ordinates many early and late-stage clinical trials testing new treatments for different types of cancer. Much of his work focuses on kidney cancer, lung cancer and melanoma.
Melanoma
Prof Tim Bishop
Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory
St James's University Hospital, Leeds
Finding cancer genes
Professor Tim Bishop, head of the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory in Leeds, is a leader in the field of cancer genetics. He is studying the genes involved in several types of cancer including melanoma skin cancer.
Prof Julia Newton-Bishop
Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine,
St James's Hospital/University of Leeds, Leeds
Finding skin cancer genes
Professor Julia Newton-Bishop works in the Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology of the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine. She studies people with family histories of melanoma - the most dangerous form of skin cancer - and has made many significant discoveries.
No specific cancer type
Professor Gerard Evan
Department of Biochemistry
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Investigating cancer genes
Professor Gerard Evan is one of the world’s foremost experts in oncogenes – the genes that drive the development of cancer. Over the years he has played a vital role in identifying some of these genes, and revealing how they fuel the disease.
Prof Karen Vousden
Tumour Suppression Group
Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow
Understanding p53: the protein at the heart of cancer
Professor Karen Vousden’s world-leading research focuses on a protein called p53 - a key player in the body's defences against cancer. Her team is finding new ways to treat the disease by harnessing the power of this crucial protein in cancer cells. Professor Vousden is Director of the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, where she leads the Tumour Suppression Group.
Oesophageal cancer
Prof Bruce Ponder
Cancer Research UK Human Cancer Genetics Research Group
Cambridge Research Institute, Cambridge
Hunting cancer genes
Professor Sir Bruce Ponder is Director and Professor of Oncology at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute. He is world-renowned for his pioneering research into discovering genes that affect our risk of common cancers, particularly breast cancer. He is also investigating the genetics of oesophageal cancer.
Prostate cancer
Prof Doug Easton
Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Hunting cancer susceptibility genes
Professor Douglas Easton is director of the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group at the University of Cambridge. He is world-renowned for his research into genes that affect our risk of common cancers, particularly breast cancer. His team also works on ovarian and prostate cancer, and melanoma. Their findings will help identify high-risk individuals and could lead to new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating the disease in the future.
Professor Ros Eeles
Section of Cancer Genetics
The Institute of Cancer Research, London
Studying prostate and breast cancer genes
Professor Ros Eeles at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton is studying prostate and breast cancer genetics. She is also involved in helping to evaluate the NHS breast screening programme, ensuring that the service continues to improve.
Prof David Neal
Oncology Department, Addenbrooke's Hospital
University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Better screening and treatment for prostate cancer
Professor David Neal is surgeon and a leading expert on prostate cancer. He and his colleagues in Cambridge are taking a number of different approaches in their work to beat this disease. A particular focus for the team is identifying better ways of distinguishing aggressive cancers from non-aggressive cancers in order to target treatment to the right group of men. Professor Neal is also investigating the genes involved in prostate and bladder cancer.
Thyroid cancer
Prof Bruce Ponder
Cancer Research UK Human Cancer Genetics Research Group
Cambridge Research Institute, Cambridge
Hunting cancer genes
Professor Sir Bruce Ponder is Director and Professor of Oncology at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute. He is world-renowned for his pioneering research into discovering genes that affect our risk of common cancers, particularly breast cancer. He is also investigating the genetics of oesophageal cancer.
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