Breast cancer receives twice as much research funding as prostate cancer despite both disease killing similar numbers of people, a charity has said.
Despite being the most common cancer in men and the fourth most common cancer overall, prostate cancer lies twentieth in the 'league table' of annual cancer research spend per case diagnosed, new figures show.
Breast cancer the most common female cancer which has a similar death rate to prostate cancer received more than double the annual research spend with £417 per case diagnosed compared to £853.
Leukaemia receives the most research funding, from Government and charities combined, per case diagnosed at £3,903, followed by ovary with £1,912 and cancers of the brain and central nervous system with £1,433.
Breast cancer is seventh in the table, behind myeloma, testicular cancer and cervical cancer.
The figures were published by Prostate Cancer UK to mark the launch of a new fund-raising campaign, The Sledgehammer Fund, fronted by actor Bill Bailey.
Prostate cancer kills one man every hour and is predicted to become the most common cancer of all in the UK by 2030.
Bailey, 47, whose father-in-law has survived prostate cancer, is determined to help Prostate Cancer UK expose the scale of the disease, and the fact it has suffered a legacy of underfunding and ignorance.
He said: "I feel very strongly about this. I read a news article about the number of men affected by prostate cancer and I was shocked by the figures. I had no idea it was so common but, if caught early enough, can be successfully treated.
"My father in law was diagnosed with prostate cancer, treated, and now leads a fulfilling life so it can be done but over 10,000 men every year in the UK are not so lucky."
Owen Sharp, Chief Executive of Prostate Cancer UK, said: "Men in the UK have a problem and they don't want to talk about it. Neither do the wives and partners who will end up supporting them, the doctors who will treat them, nor the politicians who will count on their vote. Prostate cancer is the UK's best kept worst secret.
"Prostate cancer is simply not on the radar in the UK. Even though it kills one man every hour, that's 10,000 men each year, most men and women don't know enough about it. We need to follow the lead of the successful female movement against breast cancer and create a real change for men.
"We are going to need a very big sledgehammer to crack prostate cancer. This is more than a campaign. It is a call to arms and we are delighted that Bill Bailey is joining us and leading the charge. Men deserve better."
Rebecca Smith - telegraph.co.uk
