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Cancer

DISCOVER CUTTING EDGE CANCER RESEARCH

Understanding Cancer, Translating Discovery, Treating Patients

Our mission in cancer research is to improve patient outcomes, train the next generation of scientists/clinicians and enhance the competitiveness of the UK life sciences sector.

The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research at Queen's University Belfast is a cross-Faculty, interdisciplinary research centre with over 300 clinical and basic researchers from across the world and is committed to the highest quality of research excellence. Our world-leading research harnesses a close, collaborative interaction between clinical and laboratory research experts that ultimately enhances the quality and scope of our integrated basic and clinical research programmes in cancer as well as other diseases.

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Core research topics

Blood Cancer
Gastro-intestinal Cancers
Prostate Cancer
Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Cancer Epidemiology

Radiotherapy
Red blood cancer cells
Blood Cancer

A diverse team of researchers at PGJCCR is tackling the challenges of treating blood cancers. Their focus is on how DNA mutations cause these cancers by altering blood cell development, with the aim of developing targeted therapies. One lab has created a new method to detect chromosomal abnormalities and mutations in lymphoid diseases, potentially improving diagnosis and monitoring. The team is also exploring whether existing drugs, proven safe for conditions like diabetes and heart disease, can be repurposed for treating blood cancers, particularly AML.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Professor Ken Mills ; Dr Lisa Crawford

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Gastro-intestinal Cancers

Our multidisciplinary team of biologists, consultants, epidemiologists and data analysts working on Bowel Cancer, from diagnosis to treatment resistance. Some of our research projects spread across multiple schools and departments, coordinating with the Public Health Agency and even the School of Maths and Physics; a cost-effectiveness model for colorectal cancer screening in Northern Ireland is being built and developed.

Leading projects on colorectal and oesophageal cancers are applying cutting edge Machine Learning ('AI') and computational modelling to map cell changes in metastasis and therapy resistance, also to define new patient cohorts in order to energise the development of better and more effective clinical tools.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Dr Emma Kerr ; Dr Philip Dunne ; Prof Helen Coleman ; Prof Dan Longley ; Dr Felicity Lamrock ; Prof Mark Lawler ; Dr Ian Overton ; Dr Vicky Coyle

Prostate Cancer ribbon
Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer is the most common for men in the UK; in Northern Ireland this translates into an approximately 1000 diagnosis per year. The facts and figures shown below are the driving force for the work developed by the Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence at Queen’s University Belfast.

We have a large, multidisciplinary and dynamic team of basic biologists, translational scientists, epidemiologists, pathologists, radiologists and clinicians who work in partnership to understand the basic mechanisms of disease biology, interrogate novel treatment modalities and combination therapies and translate these findings into clinical trials, to ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Professor Joe O’Sullivan ; Professor Suneil Jain ; Dr Melissa LaBonte Wilson ; Professor Richard Kennedy

Woman holding ct scan
Radiotherapy

Within the Patrick G. Johnston Centre, Radiotherapy research is organised through the Advanced Radiotherapy Group which brings together a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, physicists, radiation biologists, radiographers and physiologists. The aim of this group is to develop new and advanced radiation treatments encompassing basic laboratory research, pre-clinical studies and clinical delivery.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Professor Kevin Prise ; Professor Karen McCloskey ; Dr Robert Ladner

Breast cancer scan
Breast and Ovarian Cancer

Our research groups are focused on breast cancer in several areas. One key effort is understanding the processes behind breast cancer metastasis and identifying factors that increase the risk of secondary breast cancer, aiming to improve prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies.

Research is also being conducted on Triple-Negative breast cancers, particularly those unresponsive to chemotherapy, with the goal of developing blood tests for early detection. In collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome, researchers are investigating the genetic traits underlying male breast cancer, a condition affecting hundreds of men annually in the UK.

Additionally, the Mullan team works on circulating tumor DNA extraction and methylation analysis, particularly in breast cancer, to identify new blood markers for minimally invasive diagnostics.

Breast cancer ribbon on woman's chest
Breast and Ovarian Cancer

For ovarian cancer, the Mullan research team is also applying their expertise in circulating tumor DNA and methylation analysis to identify novel blood markers. This work, part of the CLuB project, aims to develop minimally invasive tests for the earlier and more accurate diagnosis of ovarian cancer, an aggressive type that benefits greatly from early detection.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Professor Kienan Savage ; Professor Stuart McIntosh ; Dr Cristina Branco ; Professor Nick Orr ; Professor Paul Mullan ; Professor Manuel Salto-Tellez

Cancer cells
Cancer Epidemiology

Research in cancer genomics and bioinformatics integrates large data sets from genome-wide studies (GWAS) with epidemiological data to explore how mutations in non-coding regions influence cancer development. Additionally, our researchers use molecular pathology to improve prognosis in cancer population studies.

A new consortium is undertaking research, funded by the National Cancer Institute in the US, involving DNA analysis from 5,000 men with male breast cancer, aiming to uncover new genetic risk factors. Additionally, prostate cancer epidemiology research at Queen’s combines experimental and computational methods to understand what drives cancer aggressiveness, improving diagnostics and treatments.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Dr Sarah Maguire ; Dr Stephanie Craig ; Dr Emma Allott

FROM THE PATRICK G JOHNSTON CENTRE FOR CANCER RESEARCH:

Latest Publications

View all Research Outputs
Research Outputs from the Centre for Public Health
Research Outputs from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine
Research Outputs from the School of Nursing and Midwifery

CASE STUDIES

  • Improving Treatment and Quality of Life for Patients with Prostate Cancer

    Prostate cancer affects 1 in 9 men in the UK, approximately 25% of whom will die from metastatic prostate cancer. Research from Queen’s University Belfast has meant that patients can benefit from participation in clinical trials. Those not involved in trials have benefitted from access to treatments that were not available as part of standard care. The research has also influenced clinical guidelines (locally and globally) and resulted in commercial impact through the development of Ra-223 treatment (Xofigo®).

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  • Life After Illness – Transforming Supportive Cancer Care

    In 2010 Researchers at Queen’s carried out a study which found that cancer survivors who were 2-15 years post treatment, reported significantly poorer health than the general population in terms of physical functioning, emotional functioning, general health perception and social functioning. 

    This research resulted in the launch of an over £1million project funded by Macmillan Cancer Care; a new model of cancer patient follow up, termed ‘A recovery package’, which included a holistic assessment, a treatment summary record, an individualised pathway and rapid entry back into the system.

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  • Can Exercise Improve Cancer Survival Rates?

    Exercise can help cancer patients with symptom control, quality of life, and improving treatment tolerance, according to research. But can it improve the survival rates of people suffering from cancer?

    Dr Gillian Prue at the School of Nursing and Midwifery has led extensive research into the link between exercise and outcomes for cancer patients. The positive outcomes of the research trials so far make it clear that exercise needs to be made more available to cancer patients, with further promotion of groups such as Macmillan Move More.

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CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

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Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence

The prostate cancer research effort in PGJCCR is delivered by an experienced team of multidisciplinary researchers with a strong clinical and translational emphasis.

Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence
Student from Advanced Radiotherapy Group at Queen's
Advanced Radiotherapy Group

The Advanced Radiotherapy Group is a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, physicists, radiation biologists, radiographers, and physiologists whose remit is to research and develop new and refined radiotherapy treatments.

Advanced Radiotherapy Group
Precision Medicine Centre, Health Sciences Building at night
Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence

The Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence is a new clinical laboratory bringing together high-throughput genomics, digital pathology and big data analytics in a fully integrated fashion.

Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence

SUPPORT CANCER RESEARCH AT QUEEN'S

Each year, over 9,000 people in Northern Ireland are diagnosed with cancer and this number is growing as our population ages.

At Queen’s University Belfast we are giving hope through new discoveries. Researchers at The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research at Queen's are finding new ways to advance and tackle cancer care by taking the lead in personalised treatment.

If you would like to support our pioneering cancer research at Queen’s please click on the Donate Now button.

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