A scientist who is leading a two-year research project into prostate cancer in Norwich will be talking about his work at an event in the city next week.

Professor Colin Cooper is one of the country's leading researchers into cancer genetics and has recently taken up a post at the University of East Anglia to work with patients to develop a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage prostate cancer.

He will give a lecture at the Norfolk and Waveney Prostate Cancer Support Group's next open meeting, at 7pm on Monday, June 11, in the Benjamin Gooch lecture theatre at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (N&N).

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK and many men are unaware they have the disease. This is because early stages of prostate cancer are difficult to diagnose and there are often no symptoms.

The new research project will see the Big C's prostate cancer research team at the UEA and the N&N working together and it is hoped large numbers of patients within Norfolk and Waveney will agree to take part, so a programme of trials can be developed.

Prof Cooper will also use genome technology to look at the sequence of DNA in the body of a cancer patient and decode it to establish which genes have broken down to cause the cancer.