The Hospital Research Foundation (THRF) Group is proud to announce a $500,000 commitment to improve care and research into Australia’s most common cancer, prostate cancer.
Three research projects have been awarded funding as part of a competitive grant round focused on men’s health.
“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australia, and for one in three men their treatment will fail, so it is important we continue to build understanding and treatments around this deadly disease,” THRF Group CEO Paul Flynn said.
The successful projects include:
Associate Professor Luke Selth – identifying aggressive tumours
Flinders University
Current tests for detecting prostate cancer struggle to accurately distinguish between aggressive tumours requiring treatment, versus slow-growing tumours that do not need to be treated at all. This project will determine whether a new type of blood marker can improve our ability to differentiate between aggressive and slow-growing tumours at the time of diagnosis, and therefore enable more personalised treatment.
Dr Chui Yan Mah – understanding treatment resistance
The University of Adelaide
This study will investigate how different cell types in a prostate tumour interact, to identify the drivers of prostate cancer growth and understand why some treatments fail in some patients. With this knowledge, better strategies can be developed to kill cancer cells more effectively, prevent treatment resistance and improve survival.
Dr Kerri Beckmann – help for loss of sexual function
University of South Australia
Men with prostate cancer have high levels of unmet need around loss of sexual function following treatment, yet the majority don’t seek help. This project will identify factors that prevent or encourage men to seek help for sexual concerns, to then develop an optimal care pathway to improve help-seeking for sexual issues.
A huge thank you to our donors, fundraisers, corporate partners and Home Lottery ticket buyers for making this support possible, particularly those from our Group charity Australian Prostate Cancer.
