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In recognition of Genetic Counsellor Awareness Day, hear from Peter Mac’s Dr Laura Forrest, associate genetic counsellor and senior research fellow who leads the Psychosocial Cancer Genomics Research team, about her work at the Parkville Familial Cancer Centre.
The Familial Cancer Centre is a partnership between all the Parkville precinct hospitals that seeks to reduce the morbidity and mortality of cancers associated with an inherited genetic cause.
Genetic counsellors support patients and their families who have an increased risk of cancer, helping them make informed decisions about genetic testing and consider the personal and family implications of the results.
With 29 genetic counsellors, the Parkville Familial Cancer Centre is the largest of its kind in Australia.
The centre offers a multitude of services including cancer risk assessment, genetic counselling, genetic testing, medical advice and management, and psychological support.
Dr Forrest explains, “people who have a family history of cancer or people with specific types of cancer are more likely to be referred to our service. Patients undergo a comprehensive cancer risk assessment that provides information about whether [they] are at increased risk of cancer and why”.
“We talk a lot about breast and bowel cancers because these are associated with two of the more common hereditary cancer syndromes” adds Dr Forrest.
When asked how the service and genetic counselling as a profession has changed over the years, she explained, “the profession has grown a lot since I first became a genetic counsellor back in 2004!”
“In addition to working in clinical roles, there are now genetic counsellors who specialise in education, policy, variant curation, research, and in private practise.”
“There are also academic genetic counsellors who have done or are doing PhDs and leading genetic counselling research programs, like my team and I at the Psychosocial Cancer Genomics Research team in the Parkville Familial Cancer Centre.”
The significance of diversity in generic counselling is celebrated in this year’s theme: ‘Diversity within the Australasian Genetic Counselling Profession’.
Asked why diversity is so important in the profession, Dr Forrest explained, “genetics and genomics have increasingly important implications for cancer diagnoses, treatment, and prognoses, and also in predicting future cancer risks.
“It’s critical that our profession is socially and culturally diverse to ensure we represent the Australian population, understand the needs of people with different identities, and ensure our practise is respectful and patient-centred.”
Dr Forrest advises that if you or anyone you know is worried about cancer risk you should talk to your GP, who can refer you to your closest familial cancer centre.
“There are familial cancer services in every state and territory, and many of us provide services both in person and via telehealth, allowing us to help people living rurally or regionally,” she said.
Want to know more? Visit: Parkville Familial Cancer Centre
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Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Cartherics Pty Ltd have entered into a Collaborative Development Program Agreement (CDPA) to develop Cartherics’ proprietary autologous CAR-T cell therapy (CTH-001) for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
“Patients with advanced stages of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas often have few treatment options left when their disease progresses, and experience lower quality of life and poor life expectancy,” said Professor Simon Harrison from Peter Mac.
“We are impressed by the laboratory results achieved by Cartherics’ scientists.
“We are eager to see if evidence of efficacy in preclinical models translates into an effective, safe therapy for patients using a highly innovative approach with autologous CAR-T cells,” he said.
Professor Alan Trounson, CEO of Cartherics, said “We are excited to be working with a premier global cancer centre to advance CTH-001 into human clinical trials.
“We are very pleased to partner with Peter Mac’s Centre of Excellence in Cellular Immunotherapy, which was established in 2019 with backing from the Australian Federal Government and generous donors to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
“In addition to their outstanding clinical research in oncology, Peter Mac through Cell Therapies Pty Ltd has substantial experience in manufacturing of cell therapies for cancer.”
The key aspects of the collaborative research are setting up clinical-scale manufacturing of CTH-001 and conducting a Phase I clinical trial. This will initially enrol six patients with refractory CTCL.
The primary goal of the clinical trial is to investigate the safety of CTH-001 in this patient population.
Contacts:
For more information contact the Peter Mac Communications team on 0417 123 048.
About Peter Mac
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world-leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.
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To celebrate International Pathology Day 2022, we're taking you behind the scenes at the Peter Mac Pathology department.
The incredibly skilled team diagnose cancers and help decide the individualised cancer treatments we provide for every single patient.
The 24-hour on-site service provides biochemistry, haematology, anatomical pathology and diagnostic molecular pathology - receiving nearly 200,000 pathology requests per year (that's an average of over 500 every single day).
Patient bloods or specimens collected during any sort of procedure, as an inpatient or in our outpatient pathology clinic - go straight to our on-site pathologists for analysis.
They also perform all the genetic testing for cancer patients across Australia and New Zealand, not just at Peter Mac.
Pathologists can also examine changes in tissue, blood and other bodily fluid samples to gain an understanding of the potential for disease development, the cause or severity of disease and/or to monitor the progress of disease, effectiveness of treatment and your general health.
Watch the video tour below.
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Peter Mac’s Chief Medical Officer Dr David Speakman and Director of Prevention and Wellbeing Geri McDonald joined the Hon. Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, at Parliament House in Canberra last Thursday for the official launch of the ‘Integrative Oncology and Wellness Centres in Cancer Care’ white paper.
This inaugural white paper provides a framework of recommendations to maximise the potential benefits that Integrative Oncology and Wellness Centres can provide for cancer patients.
It was developed on behalf of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Solaris Cancer Care Foundation, Bloomhill Cancer Centre, and NICM Health Research Institute at Western Sydney University with support from the Dry July Foundation.
Geri McDonald, Director Prevention & Wellbeing at Peter Mac said the Deakin University undertook an environmental scan to inform the white paper’s recommendations.
“The growth in the establishment of Wellness Centres across Australia provides an opportunity to focus on the social determinants of health and the issues that people with cancer face when managing their cancer experience,” Geri said.
“Wellness Centres provide a platform for the delivery of Integrative Oncology and wellbeing services. However, Integrative Oncology services can also be offered in the absence of a Wellness Centre.
“The establishment of an Integrative Oncology framework would enable Wellness Centres to achieve best practice evidence based Integrative Oncology and wellbeing services across Australia ensuring equity of access for all Australians,” she said.
The white paper outlined six strategic recommendations:
- Develop guidelines for Integrative Oncology in Australia
- Identify and gain consensus on the critical success factors
- Prioritise routine collection of data
- Establish funding strategy
- Establish referral pathway
- Foster and progress a collaborative research program
Services such as acupuncture, massage, meditation, yoga, music therapy, exercise and nutrition are among recommendations for alleviating common symptoms such as fatigue, pain, nausea, hot flashes and sleep disorders.
The authors of the paper noted that cancer care in Australia is changing and evidence-based Integrative Oncology services are playing a more important role than ever before.
“This inaugural white paper validates the services and provides the strategic recommendations to guide this conversation and to enable the sector to consider a consistent and coordinated approach. Only by doing so will we be able to deliver the benefits of Integrative Oncology and Wellness Centres to more Australians affected by cancer,” they said.
To view a full copy of the white paper, please scan the QR code below or you can view here.
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Cancer patients in Australia and the United States will benefit from a new research-focused collaboration between the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the institutions will explore potential areas of collaboration to drive research in the global fight against cancer.
Based in Melbourne and with campuses across Victoria, Peter Mac is Australia’s only public health service dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer and a world-leading cancer research, education and treatment centre.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a Harvard Medical School-affiliated Comprehensive Cancer Centre, delivering innovative patient therapies and scientific discoveries to the world.
Peter Mac Chief Executive Professor Shelley Dolan said the MOU reflected a shared vision to provide world-class, compassionate and innovative clinical care, research and education.
“We are delighted to be signing this new MOU with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute which ranks among the world’s leading cancer hospitals and research centres,” Professor Dolan said.
“Working together like this provides unique benefits to each of our organisations and, ultimately, brings us closer to better cancer treatments and potential cures.”
The three-year MOU will support initiatives including:
- Reciprocal visits of oncology faculty and staff
- Research collaboration, with a focus on immune-based cancer therapies
- Advancing the clinical application of genomics used to tailor cancer treatments
- Integrating digital health with a focus on using Electronic Medical Records to support research and advancements in patient care.
Kevin Haigis, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said the key aims were established to foster academic exchange, drive implementation of new technologies and advance novel therapeutics among the two institutions.
“Dana-Farber and Peter Mac have areas of shared expertise and interest and the activities we seek to implement from this MOU will help benefit patients with cancer in Australia and around the world,” Dr Haigis said.
This is the second MOU signed between the two organisations, building on an initial agreement signed in 2016.
Contacts:
For more information contact the Peter Mac Communications team on 0417 123 048.
About Peter Mac
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world-leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.