One of the main aims of the Men Matter Appeal is to generate funds which will support research into men’s cancers in the North West.
Research of this type is currently carried out by the Genitourinary Research group, based at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research (PICR) in The Christie. The science team, currently comprising 6 researchers (soon to be 7 – see below), are working on trying to understand how and why cancers of the prostate, testes and penis develop and spread, as well as developing new ways to diagnose these cancers early and treat them more effectively.
The team has realised that a critical component in this type of research is to collect and store specimens of blood and cancer tissue from patients of whom they also have information about how they responded to current treatments. Collections of this type are surprisingly uncommon and the legal regulations regarding tissue collection from patients are very strict. Due to foresight the team already has access to 800 samples of blood from men, diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer, which are linked closely to information about the individual patient’s outcome. The research team would like to continue this important process to enable the collection of repeat samples from patients who have undergone treatment to determine whether they can clarify which factors in the blood and tissue are linked to the outcome for that patient and their response to their treatment.
Men Matter has decided that the team’s current need is to employ a research technician to coordinate the process of sample collection and storage and therefore has awarded the team a two-year grant of £50,000 to make an appointment in 2010. This person will be responsible for identifying men with prostate, penile and testis cancer attending specialist clinics in order to discuss sample collection with them. If patients agree to participation in the project, their consent can be obtained and samples can then be taken and stored at the PICR. From there the samples will be made available to the scientific research team who will use them in the various cancer research projects. The results of this research will then be presented at national and international cancer research meetings before being published in international cancer journals, making the information available to other cancer research groups and medical specialists throughout the world.
Following the appointment of the technician, the next goal of Men Matter is to appoint a full-time research scientist to work within the research group at the PICR for a period of 3 years, potentially renewable to 5 years. This will cost Men Matter at least £100,000. This individual will be a highly qualified scientist with a record of achievement in the field of cancer research and they will have two roles. Firstly he/she will work in a specific area of men’s cancer research developing an individual project. At the same time their second role will be supervising trainee doctors and scientists undertaking specific research projects. From experience it is known that these trainees produce high quality research in their own right and go on to develop their own careers in research which, in this circumstance, is likely to be in men’s cancers. We believe that this will lead to long term benefits for future patients.
