TRANSFORM trial
What is TRANSFORM?
In 2024, Prostate Cancer UK launched a £42 million research programme – the TRANSFORM trial – to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer, so one day all men at risk are invited for regular tests to find aggressive cancers in time for a cure.
It will be the biggest trial in prostate cancer screening for 20 years and has been developed in consultation, and with the backing of, the NHS, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the UK Government, who have committed to contribute £16 million. The study is also being supported by founding partners, in addition to other significant donations from philanthropic organisations.
The TRANSFORM trial, involving hundreds of thousands of men, will compare the most promising tests and provide definitive evidence about the best way to screen for prostate cancer. This is urgently needed. 12,000 men die of prostate cancer each year. It is the most common cancer in the UK without a screening programme, even though it usually has no symptoms until it has spread and become incurable.
With decades of research-funding experience, we’ve brought together the best researchers globally and engaged independent experts to make sure the trial is robust enough and can provide the insight needed to revolutionise prostate cancer diagnosis.
Find out more about TRANSFORM and the Bio-Digital Twin Biobank
In July 2024, two lead researchers hosted webinars to share further details of TRANSFORM to clinicians and researchers across the UK.
Professor Hashim Ahmed outlined TRANSFORM's aims and design. He sought expressions of interest from primary and secondary care colleagues who would like to be involved in the trial as potential recruitment centres. Aspects of site suitability, such as local hospital capacity and the level of PSA screening in the local community were discussed.
Professor Rakesh Heer introduced the TRANSFORM Bio-Digital Twin Biobank, which will form a unique repository of samples from consenting trial participants alongside MRI images, digitised pathology, clinical and demographic data. Professor Heer is keen to hear from research colleagues who can see immediate or future uses of the Biobank in their work.
To contact the TRANSFORM team for further information about either the TRANSFORM trial or the tissue and data collection, please email [email protected]
