Our research

We have a bold ambition: to stop prostate cancer from being a killer. And it’s through funding research that we will make this happen.

This goal is underpinned by our research strategy, which sets out how we invest in the most innovative ideas to accelerate improvements for men. Specifically, we focus on funding research in three key areas: better diagnosis, better treatments and better prevention. By tackling these areas, we can make the biggest impact to men with, or at risk of, prostate cancer.

Our clinical trials have already helped make significant advances in clinical practice, for example contributing to the evidence that proved a new imaging technology, called mpMRI, could be used to transform prostate cancer diagnosis. And we’ve got many more where that came from.

On the map below, you can find all our clinical studies that are open for recruitment. If you’d like to find out more about any of these studies, follow the link to the dedicated page. And if you’re interested in taking part in any of our funded trials, speak to your medical team, or contact our Specialist Nurses on 0800 074 8383 for more information on what it means to be part of a clinical trial.

We try to keep this map as up to date as possible, but there may be times when some of the marked recruitment sites are no longer open. Speak to your medical team, or our Specialist Nurses, for the most up to date information on the trials that may be suitable for you.  

Funding research can be a long-game. But already, our investments are starting to pay off for men like Douglas, who was first diagnosed with prostate cancer over a decade ago. He’s been through multiple rounds of treatment, but eventually, the cancer became resistant to all available drugs. He’d run out of options, until a clinical trial gave him a new ray of hope.

“I’ve tried to never worry about my condition and just get on with life, but that was one of my low points,” he says. That is, until his doctor suggested taking part in a Prostate Cancer UK-funded clinical trial to test a new treatment.

The trial is led by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), who are testing a called olaparib to see if it could work in certain men with prostate cancer. They’re using a precision medicine approach to specifically target a specific genetic ‘Achille’s heel’ found in some men’s cancers. Luckily, Douglas was among the men who olaparib could work for.

For Douglas, the benefits of research are obvious. Scans show that the tumours in his lymph nodes and liver are shrinking in response to olaparib. However, not all men will be so lucky. It’s vital that we keep funding research to find new treatments that will work for all men, so that one day we can stop prostate cancer from being a killer.