“Experimental medicine: Investigation undertaken in human beings to identify mechanisms of disease and to test the validity and importance of new discoveries or treatments.”
Experimental medicine, also known as translational research, is a hot topic in the world of cancer science. Put simply, it’s all about taking discoveries made in the lab and turning them into effective new treatments and diagnostic tools for cancer.
It can be a long and sometimes tortuous process, involving experts from many scientific and medical disciplines working together to develop and test new ideas. To speed up the process – and bring benefits to patients faster – Cancer Research UK and the Departments of Health in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have clubbed together to provide £35 million over the next five years to fund a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) across the UK.
There’s a nice story about ECMCs in this weekend’s Observer (with a shorter article here), as well as interviews with three cancer patients who’ve taken part in clinical trials of new drugs through ECMCs.
But what’s the ECMC initiative all about?
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Posted by Kat Arney 
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