The University of East Anglia (UEA) and Alan Boswell Group are proud to announce the launch of the Alan Boswell Group Prostate Cancer Research Fellowship. One of the biggest challenges facing doctors treating prostate cancer is predicting which tumours will become aggressive. This makes it difficult to decide on the most appropriate clinical pathway for many men. For every man whose life is actually at risk, up to 17 men go through potentially devastating treatment for a cancer that would not have killed them. Researchers from UEA believe they have discovered a way to distinguish between aggressive and harmless prostate cancer. In partnership with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital they have developed two tests which could solve the gap in prognostics. It is hoped that the clinical studies undertaken as part of this fellowship will prove the efficacy of the tests and close the gap in prognosis, meaning more men getting the treatment they need and sparing thousands from suffering needless side-effects. The Fellowship will provide UEA with significant funding, enabling a scientist to solely work on these clinical studies for the next three years, building on UEA’s excellent work to date. Dr Rachel Hurst, member of the Cancer Genetics team at UEA, has been awarded the Fellowship and will be taking the research into prostate cancer prognostics tests forward. You can find out more about her work here: https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/giving-to-uea/our-causes/prostate-cancer-research/interview-with-dr-rachel-hurst If successful, it is hoped the tests will become accredited by national and international committees and be used by clinicians to ensure that the right course of treatment is selected more rapidly for men undergoing assessment for prostate cancer. David Ellis, Director of Development at UEA said “This very generous support from Alan Boswell Group will really help us deliver medical research which aims to revolutionise aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis and get our new tests into hospital clinics worldwide — making a huge difference to patients.” This grant is being made directly by Alan Boswell Group but compliments the existing charitable work done via the Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust, which has seen more than £1m awarded in grants over the past three years. Alan Boswell, Executive Chairman at Alan Boswell Group said “While survival rates for prostate cancer continue to improve, there is still a huge impact on men’s quality of life, often unnecessarily. It is likely to have an impact on all of our lives in some way, as one in eight men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. My hope is that this Fellowship will help to improve diagnosis and men’s experience of cancer treatment.”
