Researchers from the University of Oxford have received a grant of £408,338 from the charity, Prostate Cancer Research.
Prostate cancer is reported to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK and it’s hoped this research could lead to improved personalised patient care.
The researchers, Professor Bart Cornelissen and Dr Tiffany Chan, from the University of Oxford have been working on a new type of radiotherapy. The radionuclide therapy called Lu-PSMA has been the focal point of the research, it finds a protein almost exclusively found in prostate cancer cells and by connecting with the radioactive element Luteium, it can guide the radiotherapy directly inside the tumour cells.
Professor Bart Cornelissen said “There are Lu-PSMA treatments that are already given in the UK but on a private basis’ Bart explains. ‘Whether that will hit the NHS depends on approval by NICE but given the fantastically positive data out there, the upcoming results of the VISION Phase 3 clinical trials that are very positive, and given the improvement in actual survival of patients, I think there is good hope there that that will be approved.”
Dr. Tiffany Chan said “‘Lu-PSMA is the new kid on the block, it’s a very new technology. I think there’s still a lack of understanding about how Lu-PSMA itself works, and there’s a lot of biology we can learn to improve its efficacy, so that’s what we’re trying to achieve, particularly with our network analysis approach to map out the biology behind it.”
