22 February 2013

Prostate Cancer UK awards Scottish researchers £691,000 to support work

Researchers from the Universities of Dundee, Glasgow and Strathclyde have been awarded £691,000 to drive forward the search for answers to key questions that continue to surround prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men.

The Scottish institutions will each receive one of 17 grants Prostate Cancer UK is awarding as part of the first wave of funding made available through the charity's ambitious new research strategy.

As part of its MANifesto, Prostate Cancer UK has pledged to find answers to some of the most important research challenges facing the disease today. The charity is injecting a colossal £11million into research this year alone to focus on the key areas of understanding risk, improving diagnosis, and improving treatment options.

Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK, said, "Due to a long legacy of underfunding and neglect we still know shockingly little about why prostate cancer kills 10,000 men every year. Prostate Cancer UK has vowed to scale up its mission to deliver so much more and so much better for men. By funding ground breaking projects such as these with the UK's top research scientists we hope to be able to find the answers we so desperately need for the future.

"Thanks to the support of the Movember Foundation, Prostate Cancer UK has recently tripled its research spend to up to £25million over the next three years. While this provides a fantastic launch pad, we desperately need more money to crack this disease once and for all. Through our recently launched Sledgehammer Fund we are calling on everyone across the country to get behind men and help us in this mission. Together we can, and will, beat prostate cancer."

Mr Ghulam Nabi, Senior Lecturer in surgical uro-oncology at the University of Dundee, has received £237,000 to investigate whether new ultrasound techniques can be used to diagnose prostate cancer and identify whether it is aggressive or not. He said, "Current ultrasound techniques cannot reliably locate cancer within the prostate and MRI's are not accurate enough to identify aggressive from benign cancers. Men must therefore endure an invasive biopsy to obtain a diagnosis. Thanks to this grant from Prostate Cancer UK our researchers have the opportunity to trial new and innovative ultrasound techniques to better identify cancerous tissues in the prostate, as well as helping to better determine whether a tumour is aggressive or benign. We hope that as a result we will be able to help more men to be diagnosed faster and more accurately in the future."

Professor Rob Mairs from the University of Glasgow's Institute of Cancer Sciences has received £205,000 to improve radiation treatment by directly targeting prostate cancer cells. He said, "Although radiotherapy is widely used in the treatment of prostate cancer, damage to neighbouring tissues and organs limits the dose which patients can receive. With the support of key funding from Prostate Cancer UK, we will develop a more targeted approach to radiotherapy, which will offer a more effective treatment of prostate cancer which has spread to other areas of the body. This new treatment plan, which involves the use of a new ground-breaking drug, will help reduce the risk of normal tissue damage."

Professor Simon Mackay, from the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science at the University of Strathclyde, has received £249,000 to develop a new ground-breaking drug to treat advanced prostate cancer. He said: "We have developed a new drug-like compound which could help improve life expectancy for men with advanced prostate cancer over and above the six months associated with the present 'gold standard' - chemotherapy drug, docetaxel. We are delighted that this new Prostate Cancer UK grant enables our researchers to continue to develop a new drug candidate ready for clinical trials, building on earlier funding from Cancer Research UK."

The grants were awarded via a competitive process, and were subject to detailed assessment from external peer reviewers and the Prostate Cancer UK Research Advisory Committee. All 17 of the projects to receive funding were chosen because of their extremely high quality and relevance to men with prostate cancer.

For further information, and a summary of all research projects, please visit http://prostatecanceruk.org/research/funded-research?year=2013

For more information please contact the Prostate Cancer UK press office on 0208 222 7633 (Out of Hours: 07984 325001) or email mary.frampton@prostatecanceruk.org

Notes to Editors

About Prostate Cancer UK:
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. Over 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Every hour 1 man dies from prostate cancer.

African Caribbean men are 3 times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men of the same age.

Prostate Cancer UK fights to help more men survive prostate cancer and enjoy a better quality of life. We support men and provide vital information. We find answers by funding research into causes and treatments. And we lead change, raising the profile of the disease and improving care. We believe that men deserve better.

Anyone concerned about prostate cancer can call Prostate Cancer UK's confidential Helpline on 0800 074 8383 or visit or visit www.prostatecanceruk.org. The helpline is staffed by specialist nurses and open from 10am to 4pm on Monday to Friday and from 7 - 9pm on Wednesdays.

About the Sledgehammer Fund:
The Sledgehammer Fund expects to reach up to 96 per cent of men and women aged over 45 across the UK. Men over this age are at an increased risk of the disease. The campaign will be alerting them to the fact that prostate cancer is an issue and informing them that Prostate Cancer UK is here for them.

The campaign is being launched hot on the heels of Prostate Cancer UK's MANifesto, which set out three clear aims, to invest £25 million in research over the next three years, and almost the same again in ground-breaking services, as well as pulling people together in a movement for change.

Prostate Cancer UK merged with Prostate Action in 2012, creating a single powerful voice for men with prostate cancer and benign prostate diseases.

About Movember
Movember is the month formerly known as November when men around the world grow a moustache, with the support of the women in their lives, to raise awareness and funds for men's health - specifically prostate and testicular cancer. Funds raised in the UK are directed to programmes run by Movember and our men's health partners Prostate Cancer UK and The Institute of Cancer Research.

• Movember is about real men growing real moustaches and talking about real issues
• Movember is about changing the face of men's health, one moustache at a time
• In 2012 over 363,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas raised over £25.9 million in the UK
• Movember has grown to become a truly global movement with campaigns in 21 countries in 2012
• More information about Movember can be found at www.movember.com

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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