2012 Publications
History of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit
In 1968, on his appointment as Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford, Sir Richard Doll left the Medical Research Council’s Medical Statistics Unit in London and brought to Oxford some of the MRC staff, thus forming the nucleus of the Cancer Epidemiology and Clinical Trials Unit. Funding was provided by the Department of Health and Social Security, and Dr. Malcolm Pike was appointed Director, a post he held until 1973. The establishment of the Unit coincided with advances in computing systems, enabling it to be a forerunner in collecting and analysing data on a national and international scale in collaboration with other databases such as Cancer Registries. Research areas at this time included early leukaemia trials, the establishment of a register of immunosuppressed patients to monitor development of cancers, and liaison with the Cancer Registry in Uganda.
Professor Martin Vessey became acting Director from 1973-74, after which Sir Richard Doll took over the Directorship in an honorary capacity, with Dr Peter Smith assuming day-to-day responsibility. During this time studies were in progress on cervical cancer and on diet and lung cancer, in addition to ongoing research on leukaemia. In 1978, by which time the Unit was recognised as a major international centre, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund guaranteed financial support. Dr Pike returned as Director in 1983 for five years, during which time emphasis was placed on case-control studies of risk factors for cancer, including the UK National Case-Control Studies of breast and cervical cancers and studies on testicular and prostate cancer.
The current Director, Professor Valerie Beral, joined the Unit in 1988. Shortly thereafter a separate Clinical Trial Service Unit was established within the University of Oxford and the epidemiology unit became known as the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Epidemiology Unit. In February 2002 the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Cancer Research Campaign merged to become Cancer Research UK, and the Unit was renamed the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit. In 2007 the unit’s administration was transferred to the University of Oxford and it is now known as the Cancer Epidemiology Unit, within the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine.
