PRECEPT (PRostatE CancEr Prognosis and Treatment)

Prostate cancer poses a paradox. Although it is the most common internal organ cancer, only about 10% of cases become lethal, mostly due to metastasis and therapy resistance. However, the drivers of these lethal forms of the disease are still poorly understood.

The PRECEPT (PRostatE CancEr Prognosis and Treatment) project brings together a global and transdisciplinary team of experts. It aims to capitalise on previous discoveries in localised prostate cancer and treatment resistance to create and validate new tests aiding patient and clinician decisions, and is working towards intensified treatment strategies for high-risk cases which could significantly enhance outcomes for localised prostate cancer within the next 5 to 7 years.

PRECEPT's research program aims to:

  1. Develop a tissue and blood test that will predict the future risk of progression in men with prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis
  2. Develop new ‘curative’ treatments in patients with high risk disease, starting with two clinical studies using novel agents to investigate if treatment effects can be improved
  3. Develop new tests for DNA markers that predict how tumours will respond to treatment and using those results to help individualise patient treatment according to their specific tumour type to maximise treatment effect

A/Prof Danny Park, A/Prof Bernie Pope and Chol Hee Jung are all working on the genomic aspects of this project.

For more information, see PRECEPT.

CHIEF INVESTIGATOR

Prof Niall Corcoran, Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne

ORGANISATION

ROLE

University of Melbourne LEAD
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) PARTNER
Cambridge University Hospital PARTNER
Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester PARTNER
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute PARTNER
Department of Medical Oncology, Monash Health PARTNER
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research PARTNER
School of Medicine, Deakin University PARTNER
School of Medicine, University of Sydney PARTNER
South Australian Health & Medical Research Insitute PARTNER
The Institute of Cancer Research PARTNER
South Australian Health & Medical Research Insitute PARTNER
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre PARTNER
South West Warrnambool Hospital PARTNER
La Trobe University PARTNER

FUNDING

3 year (2019-2022) $4m grant from the Prostate Cancer Research Alliance, an Australian Government and Movember Foundation Collaboration