Funding boost to improve prostate cancer diagnosis

Using tissue samples donated by hundreds of men over the last two decades, Movember-funded researchers are hoping to identify more accurate ways of distinguishing between aggressive cancers and slow-growing ones.

We’re delighted to announce that a research team from the University of Oxford has received a £678,000 grant from Movember and Prostate Cancer UK.

Professors Freddie Hamdy and Ian Mills will investigate hundreds of prostate cancer samples collected primarily from the HTA NIHR ProtecT trial to identify features that may make the cancer more likely to grow and spread.

Professor Hamdy says: “For over 20 years, hundreds of men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer were followed up as participants in our large clinical trials.

“Thanks to the generosity of these men, we can compare their prostate cancer samples with their long-term outcomes, to check if aggressive cancers have unique features which could help us identify them early at diagnosis.

“We hope this will lead to new tests that can predict how a man’s prostate cancer will develop over time, so doctors can decide what the right treatment should be.”

The grants have been awarded as part of a £3.3 million investment from both charities to three exceptional projects aiming to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.