Movember funds support super registry of prostate cancer patients
Posted November 23, 2021 5:23 pm.
Last Updated November 23, 2021 5:24 pm.
Movember isn’t just about raising awareness about prostate cancer, it’s about finding a cure.
“There are gaps that we see and Movember is actually taking the lead on filling some of those gaps,” says Mike Fraser, Director of Implementation, Cancer Research/Programs at Movember Canada. “Gaps around translation of basic science findings and research and really pushing those into the clinic and trying to develop new clinical tools with the funds that are available.”
“One of the issues around prostate cancer really has been, and continues to be, the fact that the natural history of the disease is so very long. It can be 15 to 20 years, sometimes, between the time of diagnosis and ultimately when the cancer becomes lethal. And so that presents a lot of challenges around the accrual of individuals into things like clinical trials because you need so many men to actually form clinical trials and it takes so long to follow them.”
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One way the moustache-growing fundraiser plans to do that is through establishing the Real World Evidence Network. It’s basically a super registry that will track half a million prostate cancer patients in 19 countries over a five-year period.
“So, if you can take half a million men and you can identify things like changes in their genetics or the way that individual men are treated and how it might be influenced by the types of drugs that are available, that allows us to actually put the evidence into practice and derive trials based on that evidence,” Fraser explains.
Fraser adds Canada punches well above its weight in terms of prostate cancer research and potentially life-saving discoveries.
“Movember plays an absolutely critical role in this space, not just in prostate cancer, but in testicular cancer and men’s mental health and really men’s health in general,” he says. “I’m thrilled to be involved with an organization that has such a such a focused focus goal and such an incredible track record for raising money.”
There are just a few days left in Movember 2021. It’s not too late to donate! You can find out more online.
