Prostate cancer research

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Around 35,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2004, and the disease claimed 10,000 lives in 2005.

Cancer Research UK is a major supporter of prostate cancer research in the UK. We fund research at all levels, from uncovering the disease’s causes to developing new treatments. We have a section dealing extensively with prostate cancer on our aimed at patients and carers CancerHelp website.

You can find out more about prostate cancer in our Cancers At A Glance section.

Below are some of the highlights of our prostate cancer research portfolio.

Or find out more on our prostate cancer briefsheet (PDF download, 100kb)

Causes and risk

• 

  Prof Doug Easton

  Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group
  University of Cambridge, Cambridge

  Hunting cancer susceptibility genes

  Professor Douglas Easton is director of the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group at the University of Cambridge.

  He is world-renowned for his research into genes that affect our risk of common cancers, particularly breast cancer. His team also works on ovarian and prostate cancer, and melanoma. Their findings will help identify high-risk individuals and could lead to new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating the disease in the future.

• 

  Dr Ros Eeles

  Section of Cancer Genetics
  The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey

  Studying prostate and breast cancer genes

  Dr Ros Eeles at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton is studying prostate and breast cancer genetics.

  She is also involved in helping to evaluate the NHS breast screening programme, ensuring that the service continues to improve. To this end, she is investigating alternatives to mammography for women at greater risk of the disease.

• 

  Prof David Phillips

  Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis
  The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton

  Investigating cancer-causing molecules in our environment

  Professor David Phillips and his team is investigating how certain chemicals in our environment influence cancer development. They are involved in several national and international collaborations and are renowned in this field.

  The team's research will increase our understanding of how the disease develops, and will lead to better ways of preventing several cancers, including breast and lung cancer.

Screening

• 

  Dr Joan Austoker

  Cancer Research UK Primary Care Education Research Group
  Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford

  Education, informed choice and patient experience in cancer screening and early diagnosis

  Dr Joan Austoker directs the Cancer Research UK Primary Care Education Research Group at the University of Oxford. Her team’s research is aimed at providing people with evidence-based information to understand more about cancer screening and early diagnosis, so that they can make informed choices.

• 

  Prof David Neal

  Oncology Department, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
  University of Cambridge, Cambridge

  Better screening and treatment for prostate cancer

  Professor David Neal and his colleagues in Cambridge are taking a number of different approaches in their work on prostate cancer. A particular focus for the team is to identify better ways of distinguishing aggressive cancers from “non–aggressive” cancers in order to target surgery to the right group of men.

• Prof Gareth Williams

  Cancer Research UK Chromosomal Replication Research Group
  Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London

  Understanding how cells divide, and improving cancer treatment and detection

  Based at the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research in London, Professor Gareth Williams’ team is investigating how a group of proteins work together to allow DNA to be copied, a process called DNA replication.

  Faults in these proteins are known to contribute to the development of cancer, and detecting them in urine and other samples might be a useful way to detect certain cancers.

Treatment

• 

  Prof Freddie Hamdy

  School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Section of Oncology
  Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield

  Investigating prostate cancer treatment and screening

  Professor Freddie Hamdy is Professor of Urology and Head of Oncology at the University of Sheffield. He is currently Principal Investigator of a clinical trial to see if prostate cancer screening using the PSA test could decrease the number of deaths from this disease.

  He is also Principal Investigator of ProMPT, a national collaborative for prostate cancer research.

• 

  Prof Nick James

  Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies
  The University of Birmingham, Birmingham

  Improving prostate cancer treatment

  Professor Nick James is Professor of Clinical Oncology at the University of Birmingham and also Consultant in Clinical Oncology at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

  He is carrying out an important 8-year long trial looking at the use of hormone treatment for prostate cancer.