Scientists in Belfast are leading the world's first trial of a new combination of cancer therapies, which may prolong the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

Around 1,100 new cases of the disease are diagnosed in Northern Ireland every year, and almost 250 men die annually as a result.

The ADRRAD trial recently began at the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre in Belfast City Hospital and is being carried out by researchers at Queen's University Belfast. Over the next 18 months, 30 men with advanced prostate cancer will participate.

Advanced prostate cancer is when the disease has spread to the bones at the time of diagnosis. It accounts for around one in 10 prostate cancer patients. These men are usually treated with hormone therapy. This aims to shrink the tumour by limiting the amount of testosterone that can reach cancer cells.

This new approach is the first to combine two existing types of radiotherapy - volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and radium 223. VMAT targets prostate cancer cells in the pelvis, while radium 223 targets the disease in the bones.

According to Queen's University, if successful, this could completely change the way in which prostate cancer is treated, potentially prolonging the lives of patients in the advanced stages of the disease.

"This is the first trial of its kind anywhere in the world. It is hoped that combining the two forms of radiotherapy will be more effective than existing hormone treatment in targeting prostate cancer cells at multiple sites and extend the life expectancy of men whose treatment options are otherwise limited.

"We expect results from the initial trial within two years, with the view to then embarking on a larger trial with a greater number of patients," explained Prof Joe O'Sullivan of Queen's University's Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, who is leading the trial.

He added that this is a ‘crucial development in the fight against prostate cancer'.