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The Lancet Commission on Prostate Cancer

The Lancet Medical Journal invited Professor Nick James of The Institute of Cancer Research to chair a commission on Prostate Cancer. The commission outlines how interventions, such as early detection and education programmes, can help save lives, prevent ill health, and address the burden on health care services.

 

Read the commission

The Lancet logo and ICR logo next to each other

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, accounting for around 15% of all cancer cases in the male population. In many parts of the world, it’s the most common form of cancer in men.

Advances in research into prostate cancer

Prostate cancer has been the focus of a huge amount of research in recent years. We have seen huge advances in treatment for the disease, including robot-assisted surgery, high precision radiotherapy, and many new therapies for advanced disease.

The revolution in genomic tools has been central to advances in this field of research. These are likely to become more important in treatment decisions, as are advances in imaging, particularly PSMA-PET-CT.

Reshaping care

Both imaging and DNA technologies are potentially scalable, affordable and often widely available in lower to middle income countries. The challenge lies in identifying the how to best deploy these technologies. These types of changes have cost and delivery challenges for all healthcare systems. But they also present opportunities to reshape and optimise care.

Aims of the commission

The Lancet commission aims to:

  • explore the optimal changes to treating prostate cancer
  • provide advice on what's likely to be the best approach in different healthcare settings
  • make policy and clinical practice recommendations
  • make recommendations for future global investment and research priorities

Researchers on the commission

Nick James will be supported in the commission by four working group chairs: Professor Ian Tannock, Professor James N’Dow, Professor Felix Feng and Professor Silke Gillessen

See full list of commissioners