Research we fund

Seizing the window of opportunity to test a new approach to blocking prostate cancer growth in men scheduled for surgery

Dr Macaulay’s team will test whether blocking the action of a cancer-promoting growth factor could prevent harmless prostate cancers from becoming harmful.

From diabetes to prostate cancer: capitalising on an unexpected treatment effect

Professor Noel Clarke wants to find out why men who take the drug metformin alongside hormone therapy tend to have less side effects and live longer than men on hormone therapy alone.

A two-pronged attack for treating prostate cancer

Professor Carling is investigating two proteins involved in prostate cancer growth to determine whether they can be used as targets for a dual drug treatment for advanced prostate cancer.

Developing a pioneering new drug and launching it into clinical trials

Professor Simon MacKay wants to create a new drug to help men with hormone resistant cancer live longer.

Using a cancer-killing virus to treat advanced prostate cancer

Dr Halldén hopes to build on her previous work on a virus that specifically kills cancer cells, which can be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat advanced prostate cancer.

Using next-generation imaging to improve treatment of prostate cancer in the bone

Dr Nina Tunariu and Professor Dow-Mu Koh are investigating whether a new type of scan, called Whole Body MRI, could be a better way of detecting and monitoring prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.

Dr Stephen Tait from the University of Glasgow

Turning the immune system on hormone-therapy resistant cancer

Dr Tait will test if a new treatment that activates men’s immune systems can be used to kill cancer cells in advanced prostate cancer, and prevent resistance to treatment.

Using a disappearing act to stop prostate cancer growth

Professor Johann de Bono wants to find a new way of treating prostate cancer that could help men in advanced stages of the disease.

Focusing on targeted treatments to reduce side effects

Professor Ahmed and Mr Taimur Shah want to test focal therapy against standard treatments, so that it can be made available to men and improve their quality of life after prostate cancer.

Reversing the switch from treatable to non-treatable prostate cancer

Dr Jason Carroll wants to block the trigger that switches treatable prostate cancer into a non-treatable form of the disease.

Using a newly discovered type of genetic material to unlock treatments for prostate cancer

Professor Bevan and Dr Fletcher will investigate the role of newly discovered molecules in advanced prostate cancer becoming treatment resistant, with the goal of developing new drugs.

Taking out prostate cancer’s sidekick

Professor Bevan wants to identify key proteins that drive treatment resistance in prostate cancer, and test whether they make effective targets for new drugs.

Testing precision medicine in mini prostate cancer tumours

We’re funding Dr Swain to create mini prostate cancer tumours in the lab to look for genes that allow tumours to grow, respond to treatment and become resistant to treatment. The project could go on to inform precision medicine trials for advanced prostate cancer treatments.

Bursting the bubble on prostate cancer

Professor Callan is testing a novel way to deliver treatments that could be used to kill returned prostate cancer and minimise side effects.

Finding ways to escape resistance to abiraterone

Professor de Bono will investigate why drugs like abiraterone and enzalutamide don’t work for some men, and why they stop working for others. A better understanding of this process will help scientists develop drugs to prevent resistance to these treatments and extend the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

A prostate cancer urine test

Professor Colin Cooper and his team are developing a prostate cancer urine test, which could detect whether prostate cancer is aggressive or not, and help some men avoid a biopsy.

Using sugars to diagnose aggressive prostate cancer

Professor Mendes aims to develop a new test, that can be used alongside the PSA test, to accurately determine which men have aggressive prostate cancer and need immediate therapy, and which men can be spared unnecessary treatments.

Building a prostate cancer vaccine

The researchers have already designed and validated key components of a vaccine to treat and prevent prostate cancer. In this project, they will put all the parts together and test them to make the vaccine as effective as possible.

Can exercise prevent cancer spread?

Dr Wang’s team will use mouse models to investigate whether exercise inhibits prostate cancer cells’ ability to move into, and grow in, bones.

Dr Alison Tree, oncologist at the Royal Marsden

TRAPping hormone resistant metastases with radiotherapy

Dr Tree is conducting a clinical trial of men whose cancer has begun to grow after treatment with abiraterone or enzalutamide. She wants to see whether hitting the growing metastatic lesions with precisely targeted radiotherapy can prolong the time that the rest of the cancer responds to hormone therapy.

Hitting the sweet spot

Dr Munkley will investigate why the loss of sugar groups on the outside of the cell leads to prostate cancer cell death, and whether she can use existing anti-glycosylation drugs to exploit this as a potential new treatment for aggressive prostate cancer.

Quickly identifying which treatments work best

Dr Tierney and her colleagues will review data from clinical trials worldwide in new and different ways. This will help them to work out which are the best current treatments for advanced prostate cancer as quickly as possible, and identify clinical measurements that predict treatment success to try to speed up future trials.