Press release -
Movember Foundation and Prostate Cancer UK bank on Glasgow scientists to drive forward research
Scientists at the University of Glasgow have received a research grant of £463,460 to test a new way of treating men with advanced prostate cancer who have become resistant to treatment.
The grant has been awarded by Prostate Cancer UK through its Movember Foundation Translational Awards Scheme, which will ensure that this ground-breaking project, along with three others, is accelerated through lab tests and clinical trials and ultimately into the clinic for men. A total of £1.5 million has been set aside for the awards in order to drive forward access to new treatments and better diagnostic tests for men with prostate cancer. This is the first time that the charities have reserved funding for research of this nature that focuses on taking promising treatments or techniques and moving them significantly closer to becoming available to men.
Professor Hing Leung and his team at the University of Glasgow will use the funds to run a phase II clinical trial to test whether taking statins - which are traditionally used to lower cholesterol levels - alongside hormone therapy can delay the time it takes for advanced prostate cancer to become resistant to hormone therapy.
Professor Leung said; “Hormone therapy is commonly used to extend the lives of men living with incurable prostate cancer. However, men eventually become resistant to the treatment and are left with few alternative options. We believe that statins combined with hormone therapy could increase overall duration of cancer remission. As part of this study, we will also use both blood and prostate cancer tissue samples to develop new tests to track how well the cancer is responding to these treatments.
“We are so grateful to the Movember Foundation and Prostate Cancer UK for funding this work.”
The project will last four years and will then be fast-tracked to a large scale clinical trial at multiple centres in the UK before being translated into routine clinical practice.
Dr Matthew Hobbs, Deputy Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK said; “Men with advanced prostate cancer have very few treatment options, especially once they become resistant to hormone therapy.
“We hope that this research will enable these men to remain on hormone therapy for longer so that they can continue a good quality of life for as long as possible.
“Funding this work has only been made possible through money raised by the thousands of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who take part in Movember every year. With another campaign now drawing to a close, we can all do our bit to help us take the next step in the fight against prostate cancer.”
Funding from The Movember Foundation has enabled Prostate Cancer UK to rapidly accelerate its mission to find answers to many of the questions that still surround prostate cancer. People can still donate to this year’s Movember campaign at: https://uk.movember.com/
For further information on Professor Leung’s research, go to: http://prostatecanceruk.org/research/research-we-fund/translational-research-in-biomarkers
Ends
Topics
- Diseases
Categories
- research
- prostate cancer uk
- movember
About Men United and Prostate Cancer UK:
• Men deserve better. Men United is Prostate Cancer UK’s movement for everyone who believes that men are worth fighting for, to help us beat prostate cancer and keep friendships alive. Some 230,000 people have engaged with Men United since 2014.
• This autumn Men United has tons of fun ways for people to see their mates, from bike rides, sponsored walks, BBQs and quiz nights - all whilst doing something great for Prostate Cancer UK.
• Search Men United, or visit prostatecanceruk.org/menunited
• Prostate Cancer UK works to get men in all areas of the country the early detection, effective diagnosis and better treatments that will beat this disease.
• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. More than 10,000 men die every year from this male-only disease, and 330,000 men are living with prostate cancer in the UK.
• Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer can contact Prostate Cancer UK's Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or via the online Live chat, instant messaging service: www.prostatecanceruk.org. The Specialist Nurse phone service is free to landlines and open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday with late opening until 8pm on Wednesdays.
About the Movember Foundation:
The Movember Foundation is a global charity raising funds and awareness for men’s health. These funds deliver breakthrough research and support services to help men live happier, healthier and longer lives.
The Foundation is responsible for the sprouting of millions of moustaches around the world in November when men become walking talking billboards for men’s health. Mo Bros start the month clean-shaven, and then grow and groom their moustache all month long.
The Movember journey began in 2003 with a few mates in a pub in Melbourne, Australia. The goal was simple – to create a campaign promoting the growth of the moustache among like-minded people and have fun along the way. The movement is about real men growing real moustaches, talking about real issues to help change the face of men’s health.
Since 2003, five million have joined the Movember men’s health movement around the world and raised £400m, funding over 1000 programmes through impact investments that focus on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical inactivity.
Funds are directed to men’s health programmes which are shaped by Movember’s vision to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health with programme areas focusing on awareness and education, living with and beyond cancer, staying mentally healthy and research. Programmes are delivered by the Movember Foundation and its men’s health partners in each country. Further information about how Movember’s funds are invested can be found at Movember.com
