Cancer Research

Understanding the ecological contextCancer research

Perceiving cancer as an organism in its own right that develops in relation to good and malignant cells: This is the novel perspective that cancer research at UDE takes. The goal: to explore next-generation treatment options.

Researchers are studying tumor cells within their ecological system in order to detect previously undiscovered vulnerabilities and use them in the future fight against the disease. With the National Center for Tumor Diseases in Essen and Cologne and close cooperation with the University of Cologne, there are also excellent research structures.

CRC 1430 Molecular Mechanisms of Cell State Transitions

CRC 1399 Mechanisms of Drug Sensitivity and Resistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer

CRC 1530 Elucidation and targeting of pathogenic mechanisms in B cell malignancies

KFO 337 Phenotypic Therapy and Immune Escape in Cancer "PhenoTImE"

NCTWest National Center for Tumor Diseases

North Rhine-Westphalia is getting its own site of the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT): NCT West, which is supported by the University Hospitals of Essen and Cologne, will in future be one of the six permanent NCT sites nationwide. After several years of development, the NCT West is now permanently funded by the federal and state governments. An important prerequisite for this great success was the establishment of the Cancer Research Center Cologne Essen (CCCE) as a cross-site research center.

Research NetworkCANTAR (CANcer TARgeting)

The task of CANTAR is to find new chemical substances that can be used to combat life-threatening cancers in a more targeted manner. Under the acronym CANTAR (CANcer TARgeting), the scientific community is establishing a unique network of experts from chemistry, biology and medicine throughout Europe. Under the leadership of the University of Cologne, it will run until July 2026 and is being funded with 19.4 million euros by the NRW state government. The University of Duisburg-Essen is involved in the network with co-spokesperson Prof. Dr. Christian Reinhardt.