Cancer, with over 450,000 new cases diagnosed and 270,000 deaths each year, is one of the most dreaded diseases and the second most frequent cause of death in Germany. More than almost any other disease, cancer poses tremendous challenges for research and clinical practice. Practically every organ can be affected, every type of cancer has its own rules, and the underlying changes in affected cells are extremely complex. In order to develop novel, more effective methods of diagnosis and treatment, we first need to understand the basic mechanisms of cancer. In recent years, researchers at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg have achieved major advances both in basic research and in the development of novel methods for clinical application. This has received special recognition in 2008, when Professor Harald zur Hausen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his outstanding scientific contribution to the study of human papillomaviruses (HPV).
The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany and is a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. More than 2,000 staff members, including 850 scientists, are investigating the mechanisms of cancer and are working to identify cancer risk factors. They provide the foundations for developing novel approaches in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. In addition, the staff of the Cancer Information Service (KID) offers information about the widespread disease of cancer for patients, their families, and the general public. The Center is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (90%) and the State of Baden-Württemberg (10%).
 Signaling Pathway in Cancer Cells Needs Acid: New Targets for Tailor-Made Therapy?What is known as the Wnt signaling pathway plays an important role during embryonic development and also in diseases such as cancer. When the Wnt protein binds to its receptor on the cell surface, this triggers several steps within the cell which ultimately lead to tumor suppressor genes being switched off and, thus, cell division is started. Not all of the individual steps of this signaling pathway are known in detail yet. more |
 Werner Franke Turns SeventyWorld-renowned cell biologist Professor Dr. Werner W. Franke celebrates his 70th birthday on January 31, 2010. Franke has been studying the protein skeleton of cells at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) since 1973. His work has contributed to improving the diagnosis of many cancers. Werner Franke is known to the broad public chiefly for his untiring fight against doping in top-level sports. more |
 First Population-wide Evidence: Colonoscopy Protects From Cancer - Even sigmoidoscopy may be very beneficialPersons who have had a colonoscopy in the past ten years are much less likely to be diagnosed with advanced precancerous stages of bowel cancer. Particularly on the left side of the colon, the risk for cancer and precancerous stages is dramatically reduced, as scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have found out. Their results underline the great potential of colonoscopy for preventing bowel cancer. more |
 Selected scientific publications |
New method can detect gene therapy vectors in clinical trials |
Researchers unravel molecular events after gene therapy trial of a hereditary immune disease |
 International Journal of Cancer: New Editor-in-Chief as of January 1, 2010Prof. Harald zur Hausen (right), Editor-in-Chief from 2000 to 2009, hands the journal over to Prof. Peter Lichter (left). |
