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• 03.09.2026

How much radiation therapy does a tumor need—and which patients might not need it at all? Prof. Dr. Mechthild Krause is researching how treatment can be better tailored to the biological characteristics of a tumor. The 50-year-old is the new director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Essen University Hospital and has accepted the professorship in radiation oncology at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

[Dr. Alexandra Niessen:] How do you explain your research to someone outside your field?

[Prof. Dr. Mechthild Krause:] Radiation therapy for cancer has become increasingly precise over the past few decades. Today, tumors can be targeted and irradiated with great accuracy. To further improve treatment, we need to take a more individualized approach to determining the radiation dose each patient requires, which areas should be irradiated, and what other treatments may be necessary.

So far, in radiation therapy, we have primarily based our decisions on where a tumor is located, how large it is, and how far the disease has progressed. However, tumors also differ in terms of their genetic or molecular characteristics. This can influence how aggressive a tumor is and how well it responds to treatment.

We are initially studying this in tumor tissue from patients who have already undergone treatment. In this way, we are trying to determine which characteristics are associated with a higher or lower risk of recurrence. We are now able to conduct initial clinical trials in which radiation therapy is tailored based on these tumor characteristics—currently, for example, in head and neck tumors.

In the long term, we don't just want to tailor the radiation dose to each individual. It's also conceivable that we'll be able to determine more precisely which areas need to be treated with radiation—or even identify patients who may not need radiation therapy at all.

At the same time, we are conducting laboratory research into how radiation therapy can be specifically combined with medications. The goal is a treatment that is more closely tailored to the biology of the individual tumor: as much therapy as necessary, but ideally no more than necessary.

What fascinates you about this topic?

I am particularly fascinated by work at the intersection of laboratory research and clinical application. Even in the lab, we pursue a specific clinical goal: We investigate certain characteristics of a tumor to determine whether and how they can be used to improve patient care. In doing so, we continually assess whether our findings can actually be applied in clinical practice later on.

When my own laboratory work eventually leads to a clinical trial, it validates all the years of work I’ve put in. Of course, it’s even more important when it ultimately improves patients’ outcomes—whether through better chances of recovery or fewer side effects.

What would you like to promote at the University Hospital Essen (UK Essen)?

The UK Essen is a member of the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) and a partner site of the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT). These organizations and the University Medical Center Essen’s focus on cancer were key factors in my decision to come to Essen.

I would like to strengthen translational radiation oncology in particular. To that end, we are building on the findings from the laboratory to develop new treatment approaches that can then be tested in clinical trials. We would like to develop and conduct such trials specifically within the NCT.

The current focus is on head and neck tumors. In the future, I would like to conduct research on other types of cancer in which radiation therapy plays an important role and where the chances of a cure are still insufficient. These include, for example, lung cancer and aggressive brain tumors.

What surprised you the most about your own research?

I was surprised by how much the results of laboratory tests can depend on how closely the experiments resemble the eventual clinical application.

For example, we studied substances that were considered very promising as potential adjuncts to radiation therapy. However, experiments showed that many of them did not improve the tumor cure rate achieved by radiation therapy at all. They could only slow the further growth of tumors that had not been cured.

One reason for this is that many laboratory studies provide only a simplified representation of the subsequent clinical situation. For example, in experiments, radiation therapy is often administered only once, whereas patients are usually treated over several days or weeks. Studies also frequently focus on whether a tumor grows more slowly, rather than on whether it can actually be cured by the treatment.

Our experience shows that, in more complex, preclinical experiments, significantly fewer new therapeutic approaches remain promising. This may be disappointing, but it is important: the sooner we identify what is ineffective, the more precisely we can focus clinical trials on those approaches that actually hold promise for improving treatment.

Short Biography: Mechthild Krause

• Since August 2026: Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Essen University Hospital, and Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of DuisburgEssen
• 20162026: Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiation Therapy and Radiation Oncology, Dresden University Hospital, and Director of the Institute for Radiation Oncology (OncoRay), Helmholtz Center DresdenRossendorf
• Since 2012: Professor of Translational Radiation Oncology, Dresden University of Technology
• 2007: Habilitation in Radiation Therapy
• 19942000: Medical School, Dresden University of Technology

Further information:

Prof. Dr. med. Mechthild Krause, Department of Radiation Oncology, UK Essen, phone. +49 (0)201/723-2056, strahlenpoliklinik@uk-essen.de

Editor: Dr. Alexandra Niessen, alexandra.niessen@uni-due.de