World Cancer Day takes place on February 4^th every year and is an opportunity for the entire world to join together in the fight against cancer.

The theme for World Cancer Day 2012 is ‘Together it is possible’. It refers to an international target to reduce premature death from cancer by 25% before 2025 – an ambitious but certainly possible goal, provided individuals, families, organisations, and government continue to invest in cutting-edge cancer research.

Research and more research is the key to beating cancer. Australian researchers are among the best in the world and have already made their mark with truly significant discoveries and treatments. Many of them have dedicated their lives to cancer research. Their work can only continue through our support: Together it is possible.

Cancer touches us all in some way – and it directly impacts on the lives of a third of Australians before the age of 75. But every day brings new light in the fight against cancer and there are many ways you can be involved:

• Hold a World Cancer Day event (when you inform us of your event we can add your details to the global World Cancer Day map and calendar!)
• Remember a loved one on World Cancer Day with a memorial donation.
• Make a long-term commitment to cancer research by pledging a regular charity donation to the ACRF.

Every dollar of every donation we receive (100%) goes to the fight against this terrible disease. To view the latest in cancer research discoveries, please visit our website.

The time for making New Year’s Resolutions is over – it’s now time to start thinking seriously about keeping them!

As the festive season winds down, we can start to think seriously about what we can do differently in 2012. We plan for new tasks, set new goals, and come up with new ideas. So this new year, why not commit to a resolution that could make a real difference, and consider regular charity donations to cancer research?

Regular charity donations are the most cost effective way for you to support the ACRF, and they enable us as a cancer research charity to plan for the future.

In 2012, you can have the satisfaction of being part of something big.

Our regular givers make up a VIP group of ACRF donors known as “Partners in the Cure”. As a Partner in the cure your regular charity donations build up over time into a significant investment in cancer research. Together, our Partners in the Cure have contributed more than $1 million to the ACRF, 100% of which has gone to world-class cancer research right here in Australia.

“I often think that if every family in Australia made a small contribution to the ACRF every month as we do the world would be a much better place,” said Juanita Stockwell, one of our ACRF Partners in the Cure. You can read Juanita’s full story here.

Making regular charity donations is also a wonderful way to honour the memory of a loved one who has passed away through cancer. Whether you would like to remember a birthday, a milestone in your loved one’s life or the anniversary of their death, your regular contribution to cancer research will bring light to the lives of cancer patients of the future.

If you would like to join us as a Partner in the Cure please click here or phone us on 02 9223 7833 to discuss your options.

Please click here, or on the image (right), to read our top stories on cancer research, fundraising around Australia, and ACRF news for January. This edition features the info on World Cancer Day, an Ovarian Cancer research story, our City2Surf Golden Charity Opportunities, and plenty of fantastic fundraiser stories from throughout the month.

Please contact us if you’re not on our email distribution list and would like to receive these monthly news instalments.

February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and a very timely discovery has been made by Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research which has fantastic potential for early diagnosis of this terrible disease.

Ovarian cancer is currently the most lethal gynaegological cancer in Australia, with almost 850 women dying from the disease each year*.

It is very difficult to detect, and is often only discovered once it has spread past the pelvis and into other organs (often the stomach, bowel and lungs). But Australian scientists from the Garvan have identified early biochemical changes which may help diagnose the cancer before it spreads. They used whole genome DNA profiling methods, in collaboration with researchers from the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick .

“One of the key methylated genes we identified was a novel gene, which had not been identified as being misregulated in any cancer before.” said Brian Gloss, a PhD student at the Garvan.

In February, ACRF will be working to raise awareness about fantastic research like this – research that brings hope to ovarian cancer patients, and for those with a family history of the disease.

While an estimated 1,488 women are expected to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Australia in 2015, the 5-year relative survival rate has increased significantly, from 33% in 1982-1987 to 40% in 2000-2006**.

It is hoped that discoveries being made at institutes like the Garvan will help the overall survival rate increase even further. The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) has provided almost $23 million in funding to six different research institutes which study ovarian cancer, including three separate grants to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research totalling more than $6 million.

* Stats taken from The Garvan Institute of Medical Research website * Stats taken from Cancer Australia online

The ACRF is proud to welcome Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC, AFC (Ret’d) to its Board of Trustees. Air Chief Marshal Houston became a board member of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation late in 2011. Air Chief Marshal Houston retired from the military last year after 41 years service. He served as Chief of Air Force for four years, and most recently as Chief of the Australian Defence Force from July 2005 – July 2011. “In both of those positions, Air Chief Marshal Houston had an extremely high public profile and was warmly regarded by the community for the manner in which he carried his responsibilities,” said ACRF Chairman, Mr Tom Dery. Angus was named 2011 Father of the Year and ACT Australian of the Year 2012.  He is married to Liz and they have three sons. He is also Chair of the Anzac Centenary Advisory Board and Chair of the Council for the Order of Australia.

ACRF is delighted to be associated with positive research findings leading to possible treatments for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).

Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Melbourne, in collaboration with local and international scientists, have found a potential ‘achilles heel’ for this terrible disease which has such a poor prognosis.

They have found that AML cells may be susceptible to medications that target a protein called Mcl-1. Treatments removing that protein from AML cells can rapidly kill these aggressive cancer cells.

“Importantly, non-cancerous blood cells were much less susceptible to dying when Mcl-1 was depleted,” said lead researcher, Dr Stefan Glaser.

“This means that, if Mcl-1 inhibitors are developed, there may be a ‘treatment window’ in which AML cells are killed, while normal blood cells that are essential for health can be spared, helping patients to recover from the treatment much better.”

AML is an aggressive blood cancer with poor prognosis and the most common type of acute leukaemia in Australia affecting children and adults. Of the most severe forms of AML, fewer than one in six have survived for five years after diagnosis.

Mcl-1 is part of the ‘Bcl-2 family’ – a class of proteins which regulate and motivate cancer development. They are known as pro-survival proteins.  “Mcl-1 inhibitors may improve the outlook for AML patients who currently have a very poor prognosis” said Dr Glaser.

The gene for Mcl-1 was known to exist in AML cells, however until now it was not known that Mcl-1 was critical for AML cells to live.

The research has been published in the journal ‘Genes and Development’ in January 2012.

Two ACRF-funded cancer research centres have worked in collaboration to discover a mutant gene that increases the risk of melanoma in approximately 200,000 Australians.

The gene, known as MITF, is known for regulating pigmentation – turning the skin brown after exposure to the sun, for example.

But cancer researchers at the Westmead Institute of Cancer Research (a 2011 ACRF grant awardee) together with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have found that in many Australians, MITF is mutated, working abnormally to increase the risk that sunlight or other causes will cause malignant melanomas by 250%.

“This work helps to explain why some people are more vulnerable to melanoma than others,” said one of the chief investigators at Westmead, Professor Graham Mann.

“It will help to determine how often people need to be screened and how they can best protect themselves from melanoma.”

ACRF is very excited to see years of research at these two world-class cancer research centres come to fruition through this discovery.

ACRF has provided over $11 million in funds to these research institutes, with the most recent funding awarded in November 2011 to the Westmead Institute of Cancer Research. The centre was successful in their application to develop two new melanoma research laboratories in Sydney, a project which will significantly enhance progress in this vital area of cancer research.

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) team would like to wish you, and your loved ones, a very happy and safe holiday this Christmas.

Our staff will be taking a short break, with our office closing on Thursday 22 December, 2011 and reopening on Tuesday 3 January, 2012.

During this time, if you would like to make a donation online (perhaps in lieu of a late Christmas gift or to kick start your New Year with some good karma) our virtual elves will be working away to process your kind contributions and issue your receipts. They will not however, be able to send In Celebration or In Memory donation acknowledgements to a next of kin – so we will do this as soon as we get back in the office.

This month has seen the mourning of two highly regarded influential Australians, and the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) would like to thank well-wishers for their generous donations in their memory.

The late Lady (Faye) Rowland, wife to the former Governor of NSW, Air Marshal Sir James Anthony Rowland, lost her fight with cancer on December 16, 2011. The family have requested that donations be made to the ACRF in lieu of flowers or gifts, a gesture for which ACRF is truly grateful. We send our thanks and best wishes to the family and friends of such a wonderful woman.

The ACRF is also humbled to receive donations in memory of the late V8 Supercar driver, Jason Richards. It was only a year ago that Jason was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of cancer. Despite the prognosis, Jason continued to be a force on the track, and his energy and determination has touched many Australians.

Christmas is a time that can be difficult for many thousands of Australians who have lost a loved one to this terrible disease in recent years. If you wish to make a memorial donation to the ACRF, please click here.

As summer begins the Australian 2011 fun run and marathon season draws to a close. The team here at ACRF are always astounded by how many fantastic supporters get out and get active for cancer research throughout the year. This year has been our most successful year yet with over $179,000 raised through the major running events across the country!

Each event has introduced us to some incredible supporters, each with their own story about why they chose to take on their running challenge while concurrently contributing to cancer research. Here are some of the highlights…

Early February started off the year with Sydney’s northern beaches hosting two widely attended events. The Cole Classic, now in its 28th year, and the brand new fun run, the Sun Run, making its debut. Thousands of people turned out across the two days to compete in these events, and among them were 13 ACRF supporters. Find out more about these races.

Our nation’s capital got active on April 9th for the inaugural Australian Running Festival. Seven ACRF supporters got involved in this community event with 5km, 10km, half, full and ultra marathon events. Check out more from the Canberra Marathon.

Bright and early on May 15th, 34 fantastic cancer research supporters took to the streets of Sydney as part of the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon. Read the full story of the SMH Half Marathon.

The Gold Coast Airport Marathon events got the crowds out in July, and with 6 events over 2 days there was something for all ages and fitness levels! Amongst the thousands were 6 ACRF supporters competing in various events over the weekend. Read more about the team.

Over 20,000 people turned out in Melbourne on Sunday July 17th to take part in one of the biggest ‘Run Melbourne’ events ever. It was a grey morning, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the 128 ACRF supporters taking part in the day’s events. Read the full story.

In August the Sydney CBD was overrun by 85,000 people and filled with a fantastic atmosphere for the annual City2Surf. Over 400 of the competitors were proudly supporting cancer research. A group of ACRF staff were even out in force for the day taking on the 14km course. Check out more about Team City2Surf.

Later in August, Perth had their City to Surf with a record numbers of competitors taking on the challenge, and 15 of them chose to support ACRF. The weather was kind to the runners, producing a great day to be out running around the Swan River, with some taking motivation from those suffering through cancer to keep them running. Read the full story.

Brisbane’s big fun run event took place in September with over 40,000 people competing as part of Bridge to Brisbane. Our 48 ACRF supporters took on the challenge to great results and having a fantastic time as part of the day. Find out more about the awesome team from Bridge to Brisbane.

The City Bay Fun Run in Adelaide produced our smallest marathon team, with just 6 competitors supporting cancer research. They took on the race with great enthusiasm despite some injuries and some personal challenges to run the whole course! Read more about the City Bay Fun Run.

In early October, the crowds flocked to Melbourne for the Bank of Melbourne Marathon Festival. The ACRF eight person contingent took part in different races amongst the four distances on offer. Check out the full story.

Back in Sydney in early November, the heat made for a tough race in the Run4Fun at Sydney Olympic Park. Despite challenging conditions, our 18 supporters made it through in flying colours. Read more about the Run4Fun.

Rounding out the running events for the year was the inaugural City2Sea in Melbourne, the sister event to the Sydney City2Surf. A great team of 25 people turned out to support cancer research as part of their race challenge. Read the full story.

All these running events and many more will be back in 2012. We would love you to be on our team! Check out our sporting events page for more information about how you can  get involved in 2012!

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