Hoover award

Left to right: Kate Holmes from The Prostate Cancer Charity (TPCC), Jonathan Roscoe, David Lunt, Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar and Leanne Fenwick, also from TPCC.

Aberystwyth University has been awarded a £60,000 grant to fund an innovative research project aimed at improving how prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men, is diagnosed.  

This generous grant, given by the Merthyr Tydfil-based appliance manufacturing giant Hoover and awarded by The Prostate Cancer Charity, will help improve the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis.

Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar, the Principal Investigator of the project at the Department of Computer Science at the University and his PhD student, Jonathan Roscoe, met with David Lunt, Chairman of The Hoover Foundation, and representatives from The Prostate Cancer Charity, to formally be presented with the vital funds on Monday 23 April.

Meeting at the research centre on Penglais Campus they discussed how this research aims to help doctors see more clearly the extent and location of a man’s prostate cancer and in turn enable them to make better decisions about treatment.

Professor Zwiggelaar said, “We are delighted that the Prostate Cancer Charity, with support from the Hoover Foundation, is supporting this research to help improve the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis for the hundreds of thousands of men affected by the disease.

“By funding this project, they are not only enabling us to explore the potential of state-of-the-art computer modelling methods but are also helping nurture the prostate cancer scientists of the future.”

David Lunt said, “In the UK 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. However through our work with The Prostate Cancer Charity we know that current methods of diagnosis are in urgent need of improvement, if more men are to survive this disease.

“By funding this innovative project at such a highly acclaimed research institution, we hope to play our part in improving prostate cancer treatment for years to come. Our motto is generation future, and we are proud to be investing in the future of men and their health.”

The funds will pay for the entire three year PhD studentship at the University, which will run until Autumn 2014. The research project is to investigate the novel idea of combining magnetic resonance (MRI) and ultrasound results to give a more detailed initial map of exactly where prostate tumours are, and also a better indication of tumour size.

Dr Kate Holmes, Head of Research Management at The Prostate Cancer Charity who also attended the meeting said: “One of the biggest challenges in prostate cancer research is actually being able to accurately diagnose the disease.

“We believe this ground breaking project at Aberystwyth University will give doctors the answers they need in order to more accurately diagnose and treat tumours to provide real benefit to men in the early stages of their disease. We thank the Hoover Foundation for working with us to support this study and are eagerly awaiting its results.”

The Prostate Cancer Charity
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. Every year in the UK 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. One man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK.
 
African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men.

The Prostate Cancer Charity is striving for a world where lives are no longer limited by prostate cancer. The Charity is fighting prostate cancer on every front - through research, support, information and campaigning.

If you have any queries about prostate cancer, call The Prostate Cancer Charity's Helpline 0800 074 8383 which is staffed by specialist nurses and open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and Wednesdays from 7 - 9pm or visit www.prostate-cancer.org.uk

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