A cancer research centre being launched in Belfast on Tuesday aims to put Northern Ireland at the cutting edge of finding new treatments for the disease.

The Belfast Cancer Research UK Centre at Queen's University is only the third of its kind in the UK.

The charity is to spend £2.5m annually developing the centre.

More than 600 patients a year will be able to take part in clinical trials which will include trying out new drugs and treatments tailor made for them.

The centre will focus on treating bowel, oesophagus and breast cancer by pioneering the latest techniques in radiotherapy, improving cancer diagnosis and developing new, more effective drugs.

It brings together researchers from QUB, the NI Health and Social Care Research and Development Office, Cancer Research UK and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

"By building closer links between scientists and doctors, we want to increase the pace of research, leading to improved treatments for patients," Professor Dennis McCance, director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen's, said.

"We'll be focusing our efforts on better diagnosis and developing new personalised treatments for patients which will include better and more effective drugs and improving radiotherapy."

Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, added: "Funding these centres of excellence is one of the charity's priorities and will enable us to work towards the goals we have set to improve the treatment and survival of cancer patients."