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PCR Impact & Financial Report 2020-21 | pcr.org.uk
Further funding
New projects
OUR GRANTS
OUR GRANTS
Professor Bart Cornelissen and Dr Tiffany Chan INITIAL SUCCESS
In 2019 we awarded a pilot grant to Professor Bart Cornelissen and Dr Tiffany Chan at the University of Oxford to investigate if they could make a targeted radiotherapy treatment work in more men. Based on their achievements and the potential of their approach, we’ve made a further investment so they can continue their work.
Investigating why radiotherapy treatments work for some and not others Lu-PSMA is a form of targeted radiotherapy, which guides radiation directly to cancer cells, avoiding healthy cells. It currently works for 30% of prostate cancer patients. In 2019, we awarded a pilot project to Professor Bart Cornelissen and Dr Tiffany Chan to investigate whether combining 177Lu-PSMA with other drugs could make it work in even more individuals. We are delighted to announce that based on their initial success, we made an award for a further 2.5 years so this exciting work can continue. 177
The team discovered a group of drugs that appear to enhance Lu-PSMA radiotherapy. Excitingly, some of these drugs are novel – they hadn’t been identified as radiotherapyboosting drugs before. Professor Cornelissen and Dr Chan will now test the combination therapies in mice to see if they reduce tumours and learn how to use them better in man. They also plan to investigate how 177Lu-PSMA and these drugs work so effectively together. Professor Cornelissen and Dr Chan’s project is showing promising results. We look forward to supporting their project on a larger and longterm basis, with the ultimate aim of translating this world-class science so more people with prostate cancer can benefit from enhanced radiotherapy – without the side effects.
OUR NEXT GENERATION
In 2020, we reviewed the strengths and weaknesses in current prostate cancer research, identifying the areas which urgently need more research. We are delighted to announce five new projects which aim to fill vital gaps in prostate cancer research, from bone metastases to co-morbidities.
