CUTTING-EDGE technology to help understand the causes of cancer is to be installed at the University of Liverpool.

The £375,000 mass spectrometer – an instrument used to analyse cells, tissues and body fluids – will help researchers assess how the disease can be treated when it is installed in January.

The North West Cancer Research Fund (NWCRF) and Cancer Research UK have helped purchase the equipment – donating £80,000 and £225,000 respectively.

The technology helps researchers understand the role played by specific proteins in how the disease develops.

Professor Francis Barr, the North West Cancer Research Fund Chair of Oncology at Liverpool University, says it will make a huge difference to his work.

The doctor, who joined the team last year from the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, in Munich, said: “The mass spectrometer gives us a much greater overview of cell structures and proteins within cells.

“It will allow us to service a variety of projects linked to cancer – how cell structures change and how they could be corrected.

“This is key research work at the first discovery stage. Among other things, we are aiming to establish future targets for effective drug therapies.” Professor John Caldwell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, said: “The University already plays a leading role, with its partners in the health service and charities including the NWCRF and Cancer Research, in addressing cancer.

“It is a major health problem for the population of Merseyside and the UK as a whole.

“In helping to provide our researchers with this mass spectrometer, supporters of the North West Cancer Research Fund can be certain it is money well spent.

“It will greatly assist in projects to increase our understanding of how the disease works, how we can better target therapies, and how future treatments can be developed.”