Virtual reality tumour maps and other virtual realisations are the aims of researchers awarded major "cancer challenge" awards.
The Cancer Research UK funding of £71 million is to back four projects bringing together teams in the UK, Europe and the USA as part of its challenges.
The virtual reality 3D tumour map aims to give doctors "unprecedented" detail of individual patient disease and is to be developed by researchers in Switzerland, Ireland, Canada and the USA led by Professor Greg Hannon, of Cambridge University, UK.
Dr Josephine Bunch, of the National Physical Laboratory, London, will also be working with US and British collaborators to make virtual representations of tumours, cataloguing genetic make-up and mechanism.
Meanwhile Dr Welle Wesseling, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, is to lead a project seeking to reduce over-treatment of breast cancer by identifying women with ductal carcinoma in situ who do not need treatment.
A fourth project will gather cancer samples from five continents to study DNA damage and will involve researchers in France and the USA, led by Professor Sir Mike Stratton, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge.
Dr Rick Klausner, former director of the National Cancer Institute, who chaired the panel advising on awards, said: “When we began the Grand Challenge we sought scientific adventurers – people willing to come together in new ways, to think differently, and bring novel approaches to answer the big questions in cancer.
"These unique teams have done just that."
Cancer Research UK chief executive Sir Harpal Kumar said: "We want to shine a light on the toughest questions that stand in the way of progress. We’re incredibly excited to be able to support these exceptional teams as they help us achieve our ambition."
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