Department of Urology

The Prostate Team

Andrew Doble

Andrew Doble  MS FRCS(Urol)

Andrew has a long-standing, specialist interest in prostate diseases, both benign and malignant. He is an expert in the management of prostate cancer, including diagnosis, transrectal ultrasound scanning and surgical treatment.

Andrew is the lead local investigator on ProtecT, a large randomised trial of treatment in prostate cancer. Andrew is leading the department’s involvement in brachytherapy, another minimally-invasive form of treatment.

Vincent Gnanapragasam

Vincent Gnanapragasam

Vincent is an academic urological surgeon with an interest in basic and translational research in prostate cancer. He has a specific remit to set up clinical trials in prostate cancer to look at ways of improving the outcomes for men with high risk disease and identify new targets for novel therapy. He has been trained in open prostatectomy in the UK; he also trained in robotic prostatectomy in Paris.

He is currently a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist with a research programme focused on growth factor signalling regulation and prognostic biomarker discovery in prostate cancer.

David Neal

David Neal  FMedSci MS FRCS

David has a life-long interest in the management of urological cancers, particularly prostate and bladder. He has generated over £35 million for urological research and was previously Director of Research in the Medical School at the University of Newcastle.

He came to Cambridge in 2002 with the aim of establishing a major national clinical and translational group studying urological cancers. Over the past twelve months he has been concentrating on implementation of robotic prostatectomy, having received funding from a number of national and local sources to buy a DaVinci Robot. He is now an expert in robotic prostatectomy having been trained in a number of European and American centres.

Nimish Shah

Nimish Shah  MS FRCS (Urol)

Nimish is an expert minimally-invasive surgeon and endoscopic urologist who has been involved in all cases of da Vinci prostatectomy carried out in Cambridge. He is trained in laparoscopic surgery and the management of stone disease. He trained in a number of centres in the UK and abroad in laparoscopic and robotic surgery.

To Contact Us

For further information about robotic prostatectomy, contact:

Hilary Davey (Professor Neal's clinical secretary)

Debbie Howe (Professor Neal's PA)

Indu Francis (Surgical Care Practitioner)

Support Groups

Further information about prostate cancer can be found at the following sites:

Cancer Research UK
Cancerbackup
Macmillan Cancer Support
Orchid
Prostate Research Campaign UK
The Prostate Cancer Charity
NICE guidance on prostate cancer

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Patient Testimonials:

I was informed at every stage and was able to contact the extremely helpful Specialist Nurse Practitioner by telephone or e-mail if I needed advice. I went back to work in 3 weeks. I can highly recommend the robotic procedure. ...

- FR Wilkinson MBE, from Cambridge

Read the full testimonial from FR Wilkinson MBE

From the Glossary

Vas deferens:

A muscular tube which carries sperm from the epididymis into the urethra during ejaculation of semen

View the entire glossary