We are very excited to announce the launch of the Movember Centre of Excellence, in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, a joint enterprise between the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and Queen’s University Belfast (the Belfast-Manchester Centre of Excellence), working alongside the other Centre of Excellence in London. Professor Richard Marais, Director of the CRUK MI, and Professor David Waugh, Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen’s University Belfast, are the joint Scientific Directors of the Belfast-Manchester Centre of Excellence, supported by the Clinical Lead, Professor Noel Clarke of the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, together with several influential and world-renowned co-applicants and collaborators.

The formation of these Centres of Excellence represents an important step towards improving the outlook for men with prostate cancer, currently the biggest killer of men in the UK. Following a rigorous application process, Prostate Cancer UK awarded £5 million to the Belfast-Manchester Centre of Excellence over a period of five years, which will be used to identify patients with high-risk early disease to prevent recurrence, improve the delivery of radiotherapy to the prostate, and target chemotherapy to those patients most likely to benefit.

The Belfast-Manchester Centre of Excellence provides offers a rare opportunity for leading prostate cancer scientists and clinicians to bring together their expertise in basic science, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and diagnostic test development to benefit the lives of men with prostate cancer.