The ACRF Cancer Imaging Facility officially opens its doors today to researchers in Western Australia Posted on July 16, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research is opening the doors today to the ACRF Cancer Imaging Facility, a state of the art imaging centre that has been outfitted with cutting edge technology to enable further breakthroughs in cancer research. The facility was funded in part by the late Mr Kevin McCusker who made a generous donation to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation through his Will. Mr McCusker was a quiet and unassuming man of strong principles who made this bequest in honour of all the people he loved and lost to cancer. As a state facility, the equipment will be made available to researchers from all over Western Australia. What this means for cancer patients is that for the first time in WA, researchers will be able to subject cancerous tumours to more intensive scrutiny, and thereby speed up the development of new therapeutic advances. “Imaging for cancer management and diagnosis in humans is fundamental. These micro-scanners will allow Perkins researchers to image cancer progression in a range of well-developed preclinical models like never before, enabling them to monitor for the first time tumour development, angiogenesis (the process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels), metastasis (or growth) and response to treatments” says Peter Leedman, Director of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Harry Perkins sees ACRF is absolutely essential in filling a gap that no other foundation fills, which is providing funds for core infrastructure. “Large cutting-edge pieces of equipment such as the ones at this new facility are remarkably difficult to get in any other way. The ACRF stands alone in this country so we are very grateful to have been able to work with them to attain this final result. It’s allowed us to take an exciting step forward in our field,” says Mr. Leedman. The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research has received $3.6 million in grants from the ACRF which has funded technology to progress research in Leukaemia, breast, prostate, cervical, pancreatic, liver, brain, lung, colon as well as head and neck cancers.
Genetic sequencing in Australia could revolutionise cancer diagnostics Posted on June 12, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit It is being called ‘the frontier of medical science”’. The potential to pre-empt cancer diagnosis with genetic testing has taken a major step forward following the first Australian NATA* accreditation for ‘whole exome sequencing’. SA Pathology’s Genetics and Molecular Pathology laboratory, in collaboration with the Centre for Cancer Biology’s ACRF genomic research facility, have received this important stamp of approval to test the complete set of human genes in a single assay, using cutting-edge Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Technology. Professor Hamish Scott, Director of the ACRF Cancer Genome Facility at SA Pathology’s Centre for Cancer Biology explains: “In human DNA there are six billion data points, 2% of them are our genes, which can be sequenced in an ‘exome’. We’re searching through over a hundred million bases to try and find an anomaly or a mutation that may be causing disease.” This landmark accreditation rewards many years of research dedication and collaboration between research and funding bodies, including the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. Dr Karin Kassahn, Head of Technology Advancement says, “With this new approach, genetic tests will take months, not years, and see an end to some of the uncertainty – there will be definitive results for more patients.” “These technologies weren’t available a decade ago, but now genomics is set to play a major role in medical treatment. If we get this right, genetic testing will become an integral part of health care, available to everyone in need.” Professor Scott has said that unfortunately many rare genetic conditions still don’t have an effective treatment or cure. “But if we can pick these things up, we may be able to alleviate symptoms with new therapies and help patients and families manage their disorders,” he said. “This is the future of healthcare, what’s known as ‘personalised’ or ‘precision’ medicine.” The ACRF is proud to have supported the world-class research teams at SA Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology. We thank our donors and fundraisers for their dedication to cancer research, without which, this important progress would not have been possible. This information was originally published by SA Pathology and can be viewed here. *NATA is the National Association of Testing Authorities in Australia. It ensures facilities, testing and measurement methods comply with relevant international and Australian standards.
Tracking ovarian cancers’ evolution to change approaches to treatment Posted on June 3, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit We often think of evolution as a positive thing, associating it with progress, growth and development. But because evolution exists in all living things, including cancer cells, it also presents one of the greatest challenges for researchers as they seek out new ways to outsmart an ever moving target. But thanks to the team of world-leading researchers at the ACRF funded Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre at least four evolutionary processes have now been identified that enable ovarian cancer cells to resist chemotherapy treatments. In collaboration with two other key ACRF-funded research institutes, University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Biosciences and Westmead’s Millennium Institute, the research team used whole genome sequencing to analyse tumour DNA samples from 91 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Their new insights into how these cells genetically change to become resilient will allow researchers to investigate more effective treatments – treatments that are tailored to break through each defensive barrier. The defence mechanisms identified in these cancer cells included everything from “hijacking” genetic switches that enable them to pump chemotherapy drugs out of their way to reshaping and accumulating “scar tissue” which appears to block the chemotherapy drugs. ‘In this research we saw stark reminders of how evolution presents us with incredible challenges – to fight an insidious enemy, you need to understand them, and we’ve made a great leap forward thanks to a truly international collaborative effort ,’ says Peter Mac researcher Professor David Bowtell. Before this clinicians would watch as initially effective treatment became ineffective and cancer cells made an aggressive comeback in their patients. For decades they had little information to guide them when selecting treatment for women whose cancer has returned. ‘The research is a turning-point in the global fight against ovarian cancer it offers great hope to patients world-wide,’ says Professor Bowtell. To date this has been the largest complete DNA analysis of ovarian cancer in the world and it would not have been possible without the outstanding support of ACRF donors. This information was originally published by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
A man honours his hero, best friend and father Posted on May 19, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit “I have chosen to become a Partner in the Cure due to the recent passing of my father, Stan Phillips, at age 76. My father was a major influence on me and truly was a great man. He lived his life to the fullest and touched the hearts of many. He lived a long life, but for me his passing still came too soon, I was hoping he would be around longer to see his two grandchildren grow up. He was very fit and I think he would have had years left if it wasn’t for cancer. It was a shock when he had to be rushed to hospital and we discovered he had bowel cancer. He fought a hard battle for three years right up until he passed, and through it all he was positive, smiling and enjoying life. He was a real family man who put us first and was more concerned with my family than his own struggle. He worked hard to give us every opportunity in life and rarely treated himself. He was my mentor, training partner and best friend. The way he lived his life and fought cancer is why he is my role model; I will be happy if I can live up to just half of his standards and I hope I can pass this attitude to life onto my children. It’s amazing what a perfect father he was especially when he lost his own in the 2nd World War at the age of four. His determination in life led him to be successful in several different careers, starting out as a carpenter, then serving in the Elite Parachute Regiment, and finally becoming a construction site manager. He was also wonderful husband to my mother Margret. Today would have been their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Karate was one of his favourite hobbies. He trained for eight years earning his black belt in 1983 and only stopping a few months prior to his passing when he became too ill. The club he belonged to now awards a trophy in his name. He requested that people make donations to cancer research in lieu of bringing flowers to his funeral. He believed, as I do, that if we can contribute to the advancement for a cure it will one day save my children or grandchildren from this terrible disease,” Nathan Phillips. Share your story
New screening technique developed to detect ‘silent’ ovarian cancers early. Posted on May 7, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit University of NSW Vice-Chancellor Ian Jacobs. Image source: UNSW Newsroom Ovarian cancer is often referred to as a ‘silent killer’, with around one hundred thousand women succumbing to the disease globally each year. Symptoms can be very vague, and the disease often spreads before the cancer can be found. But there is new hope for early detection. The latest results from a clinical trial led by UNSW Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ian Jacobs, in collaboration with University College London, have shown a novel new screening method can identify twice as many women with ovarian cancer as existing strategies. The new screening programme allows researchers to better interpret the changing levels of a specific protein called CA125 (which has been linked to ovarian cancer) through a blood test, giving a highly accurate prediction of a woman’s individual risk. “The sensitivity is very, very high – much higher than people thought would be possible,” said Professor Jacobs. The new method detected cancer in 86% of women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (iEOC). Previous methods, which detected just 41%, would only raise concern once the concentration of this protein had passed a fixed threshold. The problem with this was that certain women with high levels didn’t actually have cancer, while others with levels below the threshold did. Professor Jacobs says, “What’s normal for one woman may not be so for another. It is the change in levels of this protein that’s important.” The trial involved over two-hundred thousand post-menopausal women aged 50 or over and was the largest of its kind to date in the world. “My hope is that when the results of UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening are available, this approach will prove capable of detecting ovarian cancer early enough to save lives.” Prof. Jacobs’ team are awaiting further test results later this year before the method has proved capable of detecting ovarian cancer early enough to save lives. If these results are positive, Prof. Jacobs says the method will likely be adopted in an annual screening program. This article was originally published on UNSW Newsroom, to read the full article click here.
A Soldier Saved Posted on April 27, 2015March 14, 2018 by Carly du Toit “I support the ACRF because my son is alive and well today thanks to the great strides being made in cancer research around diagnosis and treatment. My 23 year old son was diagnosed with testicular cancer during his final year of training to become an Officer in the Australian Army. Within days of hearing the news he had to go in for surgery and had an orchiectomy. Unfortunately though, at that point, the cancer had already spread to his lymph nodes and he was told that he would have to undergo chemotherapy treatments. He began his chemo immediately following his graduation from the Royal Military College in December 2013. But as bad luck would have it, he didn’t get an all clear, even after four rounds of chemo. So the next step was an extensive open abdominal surgical procedure, known as a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) which was followed by a lengthy recovery. Fortunately, he’s now in remission and has embarked on what will be a proud military career. Becoming a Partner in the Cure was a small way for me to help others become cancer survivors like my son.” Simon Toovey, Regular Giver of the Month. Share your story
