This International Clinical Trials Day we are highlighting the first class research conducted at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre from bench to bedside.
Peter Mac’s Dr Luc Furic and Professor Ross Hannan from ANU have been working on a way to kill cancer cells via a new pathway for 10 years.
They are both leaders in ribosome biogenesis and messenger RNA translation, which is how cells make proteins. Both understood how cancer cells need to make a lot of proteins to survive and believed that if there was a way to inhibit this production you could potentially kill off cancer cells without impacting other cells.
Ross first worked with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre clinician scientists to develop a molecule that could be tested in haematological preclinical models to understand if it could kill cancer cells and not impact healthy cells. This first generation molecule entered clinical trials, but is associated with some type of toxicities which may limit its use as a single agent.
Not to be deterred Ross noticed the brilliant work that Luc was conducting in the same area of research but with prostate cancer. The two knew that their theory worked and partnered together, in association with Pimera Inc, to develop a second generation molecule (PMR 116) that had the same level of effectiveness but potentially less toxicity at higher dose.
The treatment was then ready to be taken from the lab setting in an incredibly quick seven years and is currently being used in a world first cancer clinical trial run by Associate Professor Ben Tran also at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Ben is a medical oncologist specialising in Genito-urinary cancer - and an expert in Phase I trials to test treatments in sick people for the first time.
Ben is excited to be involved in trialling new therapies in patients who have few other treatment options. Very few discoveries make it from the lab to the clinic – and while promising, it is still early days for PMR 116.
About 40% of the clinical trials at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre are “first in human” trials. These trials are challenging to conduct and require a high level of expertise to manage dosing, side effects and administration.
The progress of this work in bringing PMR116 into the clinic is also a legacy to the work of the late Dr Katherine Hannan. Dr Hannan sadly passed away from cancer earlier this year.
You can learn more about clinical trials at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre through the website.
Palliative patients at Peter Mac are now able to choose from a selection of bold colours and prints when it comes to wearing a hospital gown.
These patients are encouraged to wear their usual clothes in the ward so they feel more comfortable and at home, but there are times when a hospital gown is required.
Nurse Unit Manager Holly Pitt said the colourful gowns initiative – made possible with support from Peter Mac’s volunteers - was about making the transition to a gown an uplifting experience.
“Allowing people to choose a personalised gown instead of a basic hospital gown provides a sense of comfort and dignity to our patients in the face of their challenges,” Holly says.
She said patients could choose a gown that most aligned with their personality or sense of self.
Sewer Beverley has been working with a small group of fellow Peter Mac volunteers to make the gowns. So far they've made about 50 gowns and, ultimately, about 75 will be brought into circulation.
Palliative patient Brendan said his choice of a navy gown with stripes made him feel “treated as an individual”.
“Wearing white, you tend to fade into the hospital,” he said.
“Also seeing all the nurses in their colourful uniforms, this helps to breaks down the barriers.”
Palliative care wards at Peter Mac and neighbouring Royal Melbourne Hospital operate as a unified service under the banner of the Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service.
This is National Palliative Care week (May 22 – 28) and the theme “It’s your right” highlights that people with a life-limiting illness have the right to live as well as possible, for as long as possible.
ProsTIC Nurse Consultant Elizabeth Medhurst has presented research she led at the 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine earlier this month.
"The study I presented highlighted our experience of treating men with metastatic castrate resistance prostate cancer with Lutetium-177 PSMA-I&T," Ms Medhurst says.
Presenting results from the first 46 patients treated at Peter Mac, Ms Medhurst showed the treatment produced comparable results to patients treated with the more commonly used Lutetium-177 PSMA-617.
Lutetium-177-PSMA-I&T binds to the prostate-specific membrane-antigen or PSMA that is present on most prostate cancer cells, and delivers radiation to precisely kill the cancer cells without harming surrounding tissue.
It is similar to Lutetium-177 PSMA 617 but has a slightly different binding agent, and limited prospective data has been collected so far to support its use.
"This research provides support that Lutetium-177 PSMA-I&T is an effective treatment for men with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer," Ms Medhurst says.
It is less common for nurse-led research to be presented at ANZSNM's annual meeting, which is generally filled with oral presentations by doctors.
"I was very honoured and excited to have an opportunity to speak at this conference," Ms Medhurst says.
"I hope this opens a space for more nurses to present academic research at medical conferences – we have plenty to say and contribute to research which leads to improved outcomes for our patients."
This is work that simply doesn't happen without a multidisciplinary team like the one she works in, Ms Medhurst says.
"I'm incredibility grateful for the support and guidance to produce nurse-led research within the nuclear medicine and genitourinary departments."
Beautiful and uplifting designs are sought from Peter Mac’s artistic community as part of an initiative to support grieving families.
The designs will appear on bags which hold a patient’s personal effects after they have passed away.
These bereavement bags are collected by their family and loved ones at an emotional time.
Nurse Unit Manager Holly Pitt said a number of designs will be selected to appear on these bags over the next year.
“It is hoped these bags will further represent the respectful way in which the palliative care team engages with their patients, and provide solace and support to grieving families,” Holly says.
The initiative was launched to mark National Palliative Care week (May 22 – 28).
For details on how to get involved, see below.
An educational film about radiotherapy, presented and co-written by Associate Professor David Kok of Peter Mac and the University of Melbourne, has won a gold medal in the international Telly awards.
The film was produced for the University of Melbourne/VCCC Alliance Master of Cancer Sciences program - watch it here - to explain what makes highly precise “stereotactic” radiotherapy different from conventional radiotherapy.
It is narrated by Associate Professor Kok, and he wrote it with Dr Sathana Dushyanthen, University of Melbourne and formerly of Peter Mac.
The Telly awards, which honour excellence in video across all screens, have been running for 43 years and receive thousands of entries including from the world’s biggest companies.
Big names Microsoft and Harvard Business School were also represented at the awards, taking out silver and bronze medals in the same “General Education” category in which the radiotherapy film claimed gold.
“This is obviously extremely pleasing personally,” Associate Professor Kok says.
“But also a great acknowledgement of the fantastic structures at Peter Mac and the University of Melbourne that helped shape my oncology and teaching careers and ultimately to produce such materials.”
Enrolments for the internationally acclaimed Master of Cancer Sciences program are now open for the July intake. Associate Professor Kok is co-course convenor of the Masters program, along with Professor Grant McArthur.
See all of the award recipients in the General Education category of the 2022 Telly Awards.