PCR ANNOUNCE £2M PROSTATE CANCER FUNDING

Thanks to your support, PCR will be supporting 175% more research next year than last year.

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This major boost for prostate cancer research will make a huge difference to men like me, and men who will not be so lucky and will be diagnosed with aggressive cancer. Having worked with the charity on the Stephen and Martin Appeal just last year I am proud to see them doing such wonderful things this year.
Stephen Fry

Meeting the Challenge

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer killer in men, killing 30 men a day in the UK. If breakthroughs are not made, it could kill 50 men a day by 2035. Even though the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK has shot up by 41% since the early 1990s, money being spent on prostate cancer research is decreasing. Between 2016/17 and 2017/18 there was a 13.5% drop in the amount of money spent on prostate cancer research in the UK, according to figures from the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). Our new grants will increase the amount of money spent on prostate cancer research in the UK by almost 10%. Between these new projects and our existing projects in King’s College London and Cardiff University, we’ve committed to spending at least £3.5 million on prostate cancer research in the next few years.

We want to say A MASSIVE THANK YOU to our marathon runners, mountain climbers, generous givers, Racers for Science, and all of our #TeamPCR superstars who’ve made this possible.

Tailoring Treatments

In 2019, we don’t know enough about prostate cancer to predict how aggressive a man’s prostate cancer will be, what treatment will work best for him, or even if he needs to be treated at all.

We believe that if there were more treatment options, and we understood cancer better, men could receive treatments which were more tailored to the cancer they have and less “one size fits all.” We also need to find treatments that are better at attacking cancer, with less side effects.

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As a man with prostate cancer, it was a privilege to be involved in the selection process for the funding of new projects. For men like me and for our nearest and dearest, it is essential that scientists and clinicians are able to carry out the essential work of finding new ways to treat this potentially devastating disease.
Dr David Matheson
PCR Patient Panel Member

And the awards went to...

Our new projects are tackling the problem of how to personalize treatment in different ways. Following an incredibly tough selection process, including a detailed application form, review by prostate cancer patients, a number of scientific experts, and character references, we’re delighted to announce we’re funding seven new research teams in six locations across the UK.

At the University of East Anglia in Norwich, Dr Daniel Brewer, along with colleagues in the Big Data Institute in Oxford, is using AI and maths to divide prostate cancer into groups depending on how the cancers behave, so that doctors will have a better idea of which treatments will work best for each man.

In Cambridge, Dr Jorge de la Rosa is solving the riddle of how complex genetic networks promote cancer, and Dr Harveer Dev is finding out if damaging the DNA inside cancer cells could be a promising treatment. In Oxford, Professor Bart Cornelissen is looking for ways to improve radiotherapy.

In London, Professor Gert Attard at UCL is investigating genetic changes, using DNA from men who took part in the STAMPEDE clinical trial. In Newcastle, Dr Luke Gaughan and his team at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, are trying to stop cancers becoming resistant to hormone therapy. Even further north, Professor Iain McEwan, at the University of Aberdeen, is researching new approaches to hormone therapy.

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"We are delighted to have announced £2m of investment into new research today. There is no shortage of talented scientists exploring innovative methods to discover better treatments and diagnostics. However, research into prostate cancer in the UK continues to be underfunded. To address this major issue, there is an urgent need to work together with Government, commercial partners, private individuals and other charities in order to fund more research and give scientists the support they need to make the necessary breakthroughs."
Matthew Ellis
Chairman, PCR

Let's keep working together to turn hope into reality

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