The two Movember Centres of Excellence in the UK are situated in London and Belfast. They were founded in 2014, with funds raised by the hairy and incredible efforts of the UK’s Mo Bros and Mo Sistas, and they are delivered in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK.
The team in Belfast is a group of scientists and clinicians, whose focus is primarily on understanding the biology of high-risk prostate cancer and cancers that are likely to relapse after initial radiation treatment. Fundamentally, this means understanding exactly what is going on inside aggressive prostate cancer cells and using that knowledge to stop them in their tracks.
This won’t be the same for every man, or every cancer, so the researchers involved in this programme are looking to understand how different cancers behave in different men, so that individual men can be matched to the best possible treatment.
The researchers have already made good progress in a number of areas:
- Developing a test to identify men whose localized prostate cancer is a risk of spreading beyond the prostate
- Developing a test to identify men whose cancer is unlikely to respond well to radiotherapy, which will mean they can be given alternative treatment options earlier
- Developing liquid biopsies, which means capturing and analysing cancer cells from blood samples without the need for invasive – and potentially damaging - tissue biopsies being taken directly from the prostate
Prostate cancer kills one man every 45 minutes in the UK. It’s the most common cancer in men and is set to become the most common cancer of all by 2030.
The Movember Foundation is fighting to save and improve the lives of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, and it all happens thanks to the amazing Movember fundraising community. You have contributed over £10m to the vital work at the Movember Centres of Excellence: it’s only happening because of you.
For more information, click here.
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