More than 2,000 cancer patients have signed up for clinical trials at the Leeds Cancer Research U.K. Center since its official opening last year, according to a report on BioscienceTechnology.com.

The Center, which marked its first year this week, brings together researchers and support from Cancer Research U.K., the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Collaboration has been key to the success of the Center, which is based mainly at St. James' University Hospital in Leeds.  By making it easier for researchers in the labs to work alongside doctors on the ward, patients benefit sooner from research findings.

The Center aims to be a world leader in developing targeted treatments for cancer by understanding the biology of the disease and tumor differences between patients. 

Cancer Research U.K.-funded research in Leeds focuses on bowel, bladder, skin and kidney cancers. Other important research areas include children's tumors, lung cancer and leukemia and lymphoma.

Professor Tim Bishop, head of genetic epidemiology at the University of Leeds and chair of the Leeds Cancer Research U.K. Center, said,  "Over the last 12 months this exciting initiative has really strengthened our efforts to bring together all cancer researchers in Leeds to work together to improve the lives of cancer patients. We are helping to give patients better access to the latest treatments available. It is a huge benefit for patients to be on clinical trials and we are delighted that so many have been recruited from across Leeds and the wider region in the last year."

Dr. Geoff Hall, lead cancer clinician at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said, "Working in partnership with Cancer Research U.K. and the University of Leeds, the Trust conducts hundreds of cancer trials every year. Through these trials we are developing greater understanding of the individual characteristics of a patient's cancer, and this will lead to more personalized and effective treatments in the future."