Researchers tell us that it’s the technology that drives the innovations and breakthroughs in cancer research. Since 1984 we have provided $184 million to 86 projects within 44 organisations through the generosity of all our supporters working together towards a world without cancer.
The ACRF Medical Research Advisory Committee comprises world-renowned scientists and clinicians who ensure only the most deserving of projects are funded. Ultimately this gives you comfort that your donation will result in real, measurable benefits for those diagnosed with or at risk of cancer.
With input from health economics specialists, we have developed a model to articulate the impact of our supported projects. This will help you understand the value of your support and how it contributes socially, scientifically and economically.
With a minimum contribution of $5,000 you can select which program to pledge your support to, or you can share your contribution across all projects through ‘untied funding’, in a bespoke approach that best aligns with your wishes.
We’ll keep you informed of progress, but you may want to go a little deeper in your understanding of the research by attending special events and tours. Your dedicated relationship manager will tailor your preferences in line with your wishes.
The ACCEPT Program will revolutionise childhood cancer care by advancing early detection, prevention, and treatment. It will improve understanding of child cancer predisposition and risk, enhance precision medicine through cutting-edge models, and develop targeted therapies for previously untreatable cancers, ultimately aiming to prevent childhood cancer deaths and improve patient outcomes.
“The exciting thing about this program is its integration with ZERO – this makes it more than just a research program to understand cancer. It means that whatever we find can really quickly be applied to every child with cancer in the country. And so that turnaround means that this is not just research, but this is actually making a difference.”
The Centre will leverage and accelerate several existing and integrated research programs, developing first-in-class radiolabeled molecules pinpointing a range of targets, utilising new technologies that will enable rapid translation from laboratory to patients. With clear focus, this will enable development of radiotracers in areas of unmet need, including tumour-specific binding, new predictive biomarkers with a focus on imaging immune response, novel paediatric indications, specific infection imaging and tracking of cell therapies. The team will also develop next generation radionuclide therapy with Auger, alpha and beta emitters for a variety of cancers.
“The ACRF Centre will be at the forefront of developing next generation cancer scans and treatments, with real potential for global adoption in less than 10 years, seeking cures and significantly improving the lives of people with cancer.”
The vision is that ACRF CDIO will be a globally leading programme of dynamic immune monitoring to augment the anti-cancer benefits and minimise the toxicity of immunotherapy.
The CDIO will be based at the Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre within The Alfred in Melbourne, and it will be equipped with the highest sensitivity PET scanner available – the Quadra PET-CT – which offers unprecedented scanning speeds and body scanning capabilities.
Monitoring immune and cancer responses in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy will provide an insight into the nature of immune responses and patterns that indicate anti-cancer benefits or toxicity. This is possible because of advances in the sensitivity of scanning systems and radiotracers.
To realise the full research potential of Quadra, safely, the Centre will deploy cutting-edge technology with existing and new radiotracers that will enable immune monitoring in patients and correlate this with various biomarkers.
“The ACRF CDIO will place Australia at the forefront of global cancer immunology research. By combining advanced imaging technology with cutting-edge tools to study cancer immunology, we will gain unprecedented insights into how immunotherapies work, ushering innovations and a new era in cancer treatment.”
Despite many spectacular successes that result in durable and “curative” patient responses, and for reasons that are currently unknown, immunotherapy fails to deliver a significant therapeutic benefit to a high proportion of patients (as high as 80%), who instead show an incomplete or poor treatment response.
The ACRF Centre for Cellular Imaging of Precision Immunotherapy will address this problem by enabling the study of immunotherapy of cancer at multiple scales – from single molecules to single cells and various tissue preparations, from biospecimens derived from the 1000s of cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy at Peter Mac per year. Through tightly entwined discovery and clinical research programs, they will generate a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy.
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“The problem is immunotherapy only works for some patients. We don’t know why, we don’t know who. So, what we’re hoping with this Centre is that we can actually change that and look deeper into cancers and see why this is happening. The potential impact is huge.”
To find out more about ACRF Accelerate, download the full prospectus.
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