Units / BMS5012
BMS5012 · Cancer biology and therapeutics
2026 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 5School of Biomedical Sciences
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
The aim of this unit is to introduce and develop your understanding of cancer biology, including the molecular mechanisms underpinning human cancers and targeted therapeutics used to treat patients with this disease. Three main themes will be presented: i) Major hallmarks of cancer (including immunology, metabolism, and cell biology), ii) Genomic features of cancer (including tumour suppressors and oncogenes, molecular subtypes spanning genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic features), iii) Targeted therapies in human cancer including personalised medicine. Topics within these major themes will cover both basic research and clinical aspects. The practical component of this unit will present you with the opportunity to interact with leading researchers in the cancer biology field, explore the important scientific and clinical issues associated with cancer research, extend your knowledge of the scientific literature, and increase your knowledge of translational research, involving clinical application of scientific discoveries. This unit will provide the high-level knowledge base and understanding required to generate cutting-edge research questions and undertake enquiry directed to answering that research question.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Clayton | First semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 x Theme-specific worksheets (500 words each) | Exercise | 30% | — |
| 2 | Literature Review (2,500 words) | Written | 40% | — |
| 3 | Design a clinical trial (1,500 words) | Demonstration | 30% | — |
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.
Learning outcomes
- Identify, evaluate and effectively communicate key concepts and results and their implications from high impact recent publications in the field of cancer biology and translational cancer research;
- Analyse, interpret and present data from a range of experiment types and discuss this in the context of current scientific literature.
- Review and critique scientific literature relevant to a specified scientific question to formulate a scientific hypothesis to underpin a research project in the field of cancer biology;
- Evaluate and integrate current knowledge on the genetic drivers of cancer to design trials to assess new cancer therapeutics;
- Review, evaluate and justify appropriate approaches for clinical trial design based on preclinical evidence.
Workload
Average: 4 staff-student contact hours + 2 hours directed learning per week on-campus. This covers 1 hour lecture, 3 hours workshop/practical time,2 hours small-group directed learning activities plus 6 hours of self-directed learning per week.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 7 hours |
| Workshops | 33 hours |
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