Research Sector: Health

How can malignant tumors be more precisely visualized, characterized, and more effectively treated?

Some 450,000 people per year in Germany develop cancer. In order to advance the battle against cancer, it is important for researchers from diverse sectors, ranging from biology to chemistry and physics all the way to medicine, to cooperate with one another. Also relevant: The transfer of findings from basic research into clinical applications and back.

Cancer Research

Cancer research in the HZDR focuses on several major fields: The scientists conduct research on new radioactive pharmaceuticals for the diagnosis of cancer which will lead to substances for the cancer therapies of tomorrow. They develop and improve innovative imaging methods used in oncology; work on tomorrow's radiation therapy equipment, and improve the cancer therapy through biologically individualized and technologically optimized radiotherapy. Here you find more details about HZDR activities within the program Cancer Research.

Objectives

• Developing radioactive substances for research, diagnosis, and therapy
• Planning of individualized radiation treatment
• Monitoring radiation in real time
• Developing the radiation therapy systems of tomorrow

Highlights

• Field of Cancer Research Continues to Expand: New Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Institute of Radiooncology Opens
• Targeting the Tumor with just the Right Dose
• Animated Movie: Ion Radiation Therapy – High Precision Monitoring of Efficient Beams against Cancer
• Animated Movie: State-of-the-Art Cancer Research – Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Collaborations

We cooperate very closely with the Technische Universität Dresden [Dresden University of Technology] and the University Hospital Dresden in the jointly supported “National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology – OncoRay” . It is also a partner of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) within the German Center for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK). The "Joint Center for Radiation Research in Oncology” as an internationally unique treatment and research platform for proton therapy is currently established on the site of Dresden's University Hospital.

Research on Brain Diseases

The main focus of research conducted within the Department of Neuroradiopharmaceuticals at the HZDR’s research site in Leipzig, Germany, is the early diagnosis of brain diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia. The work will gradually be oriented towards brain tumors. Get more details here.