Alison’s Story Posted on March 24, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit “I support the ACRF in honour of my Mum, Jean, who died from a brain tumour (Glioblastoma) in June 2011. I miss Mum every day. I miss her even more after giving birth to twin daughters a couple of years ago. My mum was a wonderful grandmother – she would have been so excited at the thought of having twin grandchildren! While I know it is a cliche, Mum was the glue that held my family together. Her loss was devastating. She fought through two other cancers – breast cancer and melanoma – before passing from Glioblastoma. While Mum’s medical teams were skilled and dedicated, her treatment options for brain cancer were limited, and the very poor prognosis for this disease had not changed for a long time. I work in health care, and know that more research is desperately needed and it is vitally important for medical researchers to be able to plan their work, with the security of regular financial input from donors. Every amount, no matter how modest, adds up to providing that security to researchers. When I investigated various options for donating, the ACRF stood out – they seemed so dedicated to putting each dollar to the best possible use, and clearly had a great deal of respect for donations. After being a monthly giver for a short time, I decided to include the ACRF in my will. The image I have included was taken on my wedding day in May 2010, 5 months before Mum became unwell.” Share your story
World first brain cancer trial raises hopes for patients and families. Posted on November 26, 2014February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit A world-first trial will test an experimental brain cancer treatment which targets the surface of tumour cells expressing a cancer protein called EphA3. The drug has already shown successful results in phase I clinical trials for leukaemia patients, and cancer scientists are now keen to test its effectiveness on solid tumours. This world-first clinical trial on patients suffering from recurrent Glioblastoma (GBM) resulted from major discoveries by a team of scientists at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Monash University. Dr Bryan Day and Dr Brett Stringer, who led the research at QIMR Berghofer, said the study builds on work carried out by the collaborative research team for over more than a decade. “The protein – EphA3 – was discovered by QIMR Berghofer scientist Professor Andrew Boyd in 1992,” said Dr Day. Dr Stringer said the upcoming GBM trial would be the first test of the drug against solid tumours, as opposed to blood cancers. “Unfortunately most new drugs tested for GBM have returned disappointing results and patients have very few treatment options,” he said. “Once we begin recruiting, this study will have an immediate impact by giving patients access to an innovative treatment which has shown great potential in laboratory testing.” GBM is the most common primary adult brain cancer and is almost always fatal, killing about 1,000 Australians every year. Dr Day and Dr Stringer said this trial gives researchers an excellent start to developing a much-needed treatment for patients with aggressive GBM. “The study will determine how patients tolerate the drug and how their tumours respond,” they said. “There is also a very important imaging component with brain scans to be performed to detect the borders of the tumours and determine how much of the drug crosses from the blood into the brain to reach the tumour.”
