PROSTATE CANCER COLLABORATIVES
In response to the Cancer Research Funders Forum report of 2000 on Prostate Cancer in the UK the Department of Health (England), Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council funded two Prostate Cancer Collaboratives. The Collaboratives started work in 2002 and following reviews in 2006 and 2009 their funding has been extended until 2011.
The Collaboratives were tasked with developing a portfolio of prostate cancer research with a focus on translational research, recruiting talented researchers to the field with a view to building up the critical mass necessary to consistently produce successful applications for funding, and to provide valuable infrastructure for research such as building up collections of tissue from prostate cancer patients.
The review in 2009 highlighted the extensive progress made by the Collaboratives in establishing an internationally competitive prostate cancer community within the UK. New scientists and clinicians have been recruited and trained, existing research groups have had their interests re-orientated and translational research networks have been built.
Following the 2009 review, the Medical Research Council and Department of Health (England) awarded both of the Collaboratives a final extension until 2011. This funding was solely for infrastructure purposes, particularly around the identification of biomarkers. Planned activities include collecting tissues for bio-repositories, preparing specimens in forms useful to scientists and developing a database linking information on samples to associated experimental results.
For further details, visit the websites of the Collaboratives:
South of England Prostate Cancer Collaborative - led by Professor Colin Cooper
ProMPT Collaborative - led by Professor David Neal
