Launching the Canadian campaign in 2007, Movember raised $550,000 for Prostate Cancer Canada (PCC).

Funds raised through Movember are invested based on the direction of PCC's Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee - a volunteer group comprised of some of Canada's most highly respected urology and cancer specialists.  Each year, PCC receives applications for research grants from universities, hospitals and science centres across the country.  The Committee reviews all applications and awards grants to only the highest quality research.

We are pleased to announce that the $550,000 raised by Canadian Mo Bros and Mo Sistas will fund a variety of research projects tackling everything from prevention and diagnosis to better imaging and innovative new treatments.

Three examples of research funded in 2007 are:

Dr. Tarek Bismar
Interaction of PTEN genomic deletions and TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion in prostate cancer Progression
Category: translational/early detection/disease progression
Institution: University of Calgary, Calgary AB

Prostate cancer cells contain many alterations in their genetic material. Some of these alterations cause the loss of one or more genes (called a ‘deletion'). Another type of alteration is when two genes accidentally fuse beside each other (called a ‘fusion gene'). A recently discovered ‘fusion gene' (named TMPRSS2/ERG) is thought to be associated with more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. However, research suggests that this fusion gene can't make normal cells cancerous on its own.

Dr. Bismar's laboratory will study the interaction between the TMPRSS2/ERG fusion gene and another gene called PTEN, which is commonly lost (deletion) in prostate cancer and is linked to the development and progression of more aggressive disease. Data from these studies may allow physicians to identify patients with high risk of disease progression early on, so they can be targeted more effectively before their cancers advance.

Dr. Marianne Sadar
Preclinical evaluation of IN06-08 compounds for treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
Category: basic science/translational/therapeutics
Institution: BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver BC

When prostate cancer is very advanced and becomes androgen-independent, there are not effective treatment options left. Dr. Sadar's laboratory recently found a family of small molecules that effectively fight androgen-independent prostate cancer in animal models. In this study they will finish testing these molecules to evaluate their feasibility for clinical trials. These molecules - if they prove effective on human patients - could be turned into new drugs that will delay and prevent the development of androgen independent prostate cancer.

Dr. Rajiv Chopra
Transurethral MR elastography: A novel method for imaging prostate cancer
Category: clinical/imaging
Institution: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto ON

Biopsies are used to diagnose prostate cancer. But they are not perfect and because they only examine samples of the prostate, they can sometimes incorrectly result in a cancer-free diagnosis in a man who has the disease. Imaging techniques that allow doctors to find and localize cancer by looking at the whole prostate could aid the process and result in more accurate diagnoses.

Dr. Chopra and colleagues will examine magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a new technique that lets doctors see tissue stiffness. This study will test MRE in animals before assessing its practicality in men. MRE could provide a non-invasive way to find cancer. It could reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and make biopsies more effective by leading them to take samples from areas that are more suspicious.

To view a complete list of research funded by PCC, please [ click here ]