Why Prostate Cancer Research?

Trek 500 raises funds for Prostate Cancer Research (PCR), a UK charity dedicated to funding the next generation of treatments, fighting for national screening, and ensuring no man faces prostate cancer without access to the best possible care.

The Scale of the Problem

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in the UK, and 1 in 8 men will receive a diagnosis in their lifetime. Within this context, Scotland also has one of the worst rates of late-stage detection of prostate cancer in the UK. Of those diagnosed with the disease in the country, 35% of men are already at Stage 4 when it is too late to be cured. This compares with just 12.5% in London who are diagnosed at Stage 4, 19% in Wales, and 17% in North-west England.

PCR continues to fight for national screening programmes for all UK men. The cost of late-stage diagnosis is enormous both emotionally and financially – for patients, families, employers and healthcare providers. It is estimated that treating advanced prostate cancer can exceed £127,000 per patient, compared to approximately £13,000 for early-stage diagnosis.

The Screening Gap

In June 2026 the UK government accepted the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation against introducing blanket screening for prostate cancer. PCR continues to campaign for a national screening programme that reaches every man in the UK, not just those that already known their genetic risk [currently only men with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene variants are screened].

What PCR Does

Every donation to Trek 500 supports PCR’s work across three pillars:

Research: Funding academic and translational research pipelines developing the next generation of diagnostic tools and treatments.

Data: Powering a state-of-the-art patient data platform that connects research with real-world outcomes.

Advocacy: Fighting for national screening, equitable access to treatment, and a future where prostate cancer is caught early enough to cure.