Cancer Research and Treatment

Manchester has had a long and important role in cancer research. The city remains at the forefront of improving practice and developing disease therapies. Over the last century, work on cancer has shifted away from palliative care to research, treatment and rehabilitation. In 1892 the first dedicated hospital for the care of people with cancer in Manchester was established. In 1901, it was named the Christie Hospital in honour of philanthropists Richard and Mary Christie, who were pivotal in its start-up.  Following the discovery of radium in 1898, there were soon promising signs that it’s radioactive properties could be used to treat cancer. Funded by Edward Holt, a local brewer, the first Radium Institute was founded in Manchester in 1914.  

Since the 1930’s cancer research and treatment has had close links with The University of Manchester. Dr Ralston Paterson (1897-1981), researcher and director of radiotherapy, with his wife Dr Edith Paterson (1900 – 1995) built the hospital’s reputation into that of a world-class facility. With physicist Herbert. M. Parker (1910 – 1984), they established the ‘Manchester Method’, the first international standard for the use of radium in cancer treatment. In the 1970s Dr Ian Todd and Dr Maya Cole led the first clinical trials of Tamoxifen, a drug still used in the treatment of breast cancer and as a preventative.