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German Cancer Research Center

The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) is, with more than 3,000 employees, the largest biomedical research facility in Germany. More than 1,000 scientists at DKFZ conduct research on how cancer emerges, ascertain cancer-risk factors, and look for new strategies that prevent individuals from getting cancer. They are currently developing new methods with which tumors can be diagnosed more precisely, and cancer patients can be treated more successfully.

Employees at the Krebsinformationsdienst (KID) explain the widespread disease cancer to patients, family members and interested citizens. Jointly with the University Clinic Heidelberg, the DKFZ has installed the National Center for Tumour Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, in which promising approaches from cancer research are transferred into the clinic.  In the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), one of the six German centers for health research, the DKFZ maintains translation centers at seven university partner sites.

The bonding of excellent university medicine with top-level research at a Helmholtz Center represents a significant contribution towards improving opportunities for cancer patients. The DKFZ is financed 90 percent by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the Federal State Baden-Württemberg, and is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.

The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

DKFZ in figures

3098

employees has the DKFZ in total (as of November 2021)

686

foreign employees from 85 nations (as of November 2021)

>90

departments and research groups

6

research focus

Research programs

News

  • Health

    Michael Baumann, Director of the German Cancer Research Center, explains why we are lagging so far behind in terms of prevention and what we need to do to drive research and application forward.

  • By studying marbled crayfish, Sina Tönges and Frank Lyko, from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), were able to gain new insights into the development of cancer. Now the researchers want to…

  • Health

    Stefan Pfister of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) is developing new methods to diagnose tumors in children and adolescents more precisely and treat them more effectively.

  • Cancer, dementia, diabetes: Eating a healthy diet can prevent numerous diseases. Yet many people still underestimate the importance of food for prevention. Helmholtz researchers provide arguments for…

  • Health

    The Corona pandemic has helped the development of mRNA vaccines make a breakthrough. But this technology was originally developed to treat cancer. In an interview, Dirk Jäger explains when we can…

  • Medicine is on the verge of another revolution: Artificial intelligence supports doctors in analyzing X-ray and ultrasound images and in improving diagnostics and treatment. Researchers in Germany are…

Contact

Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum

Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
69120 Heidelberg Postal address:
Postfach 10194969009 Heidelberg

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