ENDOGLOW: Shining a light on early prostate cancer aggressiveness

Grant Information

Institution – University of Hull
Researcher – Dr Justin Sturge
Grant award - £100,000
Duration of funding – 2015-2019
Status - Complete
Reference – S14-017

Why did we fund this project?

• One of the biggest challenges in diagnosing prostate cancer is working out which cancers need treating and which can be safely monitored, helping men avoid unnecessary treatments and side-effetcs.
• Current diagnosis methods rely on human judgement and subjective scoring systems, which can sometimes lead to men having treatment they don't need. 
• Dr Justin Sturge wanted to develop a new, precise, non-invasive way to diagnose aggressive prostate cancer that is likely to spread. 

What did the team do?

• The team designed and created new glowing tools called ENDOGLOWS, which harmlessly stick to the prostate gland and are used with common imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 
• The ENDOGLOWS were designed so they glowed according to a traffic light system when stuck to the prostate gland to help clinicians tell the difference between healthy prostate tissue and prostate cancer. For example, healthy prostate tissue glowed green but prostate cancer glows red. 
• The ENDOGLOWS were analysed for their compatibility with MRI and were tested in a prostate cancer cell model in the laboratory. 

What did the team find?

• The team found that ENDOGLOWS worked really well in high water-content environments, which is crucial for their use in men as the human body contains a lot of water. 
• Secondly, the ENDOGLOWS were shown to shine brighter than other similar glowing tools. This could not only help clinicians to find prostate cancer but also help surgeons to precisely remove cancer without touching the healthy prostate tissue. 
• Crucially, the team also demonstrated that the ENDOGLOWS aren't toxic when used within the human body. 

What does this mean for men?

• We know some men have treatments that they don't really need, and that can mean side-effects that could have been avoided - this project aims to help reduce that.
• The ENDOGLOW tools developed in this project require further testing in clinical trials before they are deemed safe to use in men. 
• But, if they are shown to work well in men, they could provide a better way to figure out which men need treatment and which men can be safely monitored.