The DKFZ

The German Cancer Research Centre

The German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) is the largest biomedical research institution in Germany. Headquartered in Heidelberg, the Helmholtz Centre has over 3,300 employees researching how cancer develops, how the disease can be diagnosed and treated - and how cancer can be prevented. In more than 90 departments and working groups, researchers are looking for active substances that specifically target cancer-driving cell changes and thus adapt the therapy to the individual disease. They are researching ways to activate the immune system, which is sabotaged by cancer. They are using new methods to get an idea of the aggressiveness of the tumours and are targeting the radiation more and more precisely to the cancer. They determine factors that increase the risk of cancer and investigate how each individual can minimise the risk of cancer. For example, the DKFZ developed the scientific basis for the vaccination against human papillomaviruses, which protects against cervical cancer and other tumours. The DKFZ attaches particular importance to the rapid transfer of knowledge into clinical practice and the provision of scientifically sound information to patients and their relatives. The aim of the DKFZ is to conduct cutting-edge research for a life without cancer.

Further facts and figures at www.dkfz.de