19.11.19
Queen’s University Belfast receives £1.25m to develop prostate cancer treatment
Queen’s University Belfast and The University of Manchester have been awarded £1.25m by Prostate Cancer UK and Movember to continue advancing treatment for prostate cancer as part of the Belfast-Manchester Centre for Excellence.
The funding will allow clinical trials to be expanded, develop and pioneer novel treatments while enhancing expert knowledge of this aggressive cancer that affects one in eight men.
With prostate cancer being the most common cancer among males in the UK with more than 47, 500 new diagnoses every year, the funding started back in 2014. Prostate Cancer UK invested £5m to create the first regional Movember Centre of Excellence in partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and The University of Manchester.
Since the formation of the Belfast-Manchester Centre of Excellence (known as FASTMAN) the researchers have established new tests to find high risk patients, and find which patients respond best to numerous treatment options.
Joe O’Sullivan, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen’s University Belfast, Co-Director of the Movember Centre of Excellence and Clinical Director of Oncolofy in Belfast Trust explains: ““We have made huge progress in personalised treatment for prostate cancer patients through the development of new tests to identify the type of tumour, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the role of radiotherapy in prostate cancer therapy.”
“Through these new tests, we can potentially identify patients with particularly high-risk prostate cancer to determine what treatment will be most effective, tailored to the particular tumour.
“We have also tested several new treatment options through clinical trials which have had encouraging results. We are currently planning to expand availability of these trials to eligible men across the nation. We are proud of the real successes to date and we are delighted to be able to continue this important work.”