Peter Mac continues to expand its global cancer network through a formal alliance partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer research centres, Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Princess Margaret is the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Canada and part of Canada’s University Health Network that includes Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto Western Hospital and the Michener Institute for Education.
Acting Peter Mac Chief Executive Karen Fox said Peter Mac and Princess Margaret share a focus on advancing cancer care, research and education.
“There are distinct similarities between Peter Mac and Princess Margaret that make this is a natural partnership, and something that will enhance research and education opportunities across the world,” Ms Fox said.
“Sharing knowledge, information and experiences will give staff from Peter Mac and Princess Margaret exposure to world’s best practice and provide benefits to patients here in Australia as well as in Canada.”
Dr. Keith Stewart, Director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at University Health Network, praised the partnership and said he looks forward to working together.
“Together we can find solutions, share best practices which improve cancer care and join in training the next generation of cancer leaders. These initiatives infuse a global perspective into our work,” he said. “We are like-minded institutions working in similar health systems and have lots to learn from each other.”
The first activities as part of this partnership will include:
One example of this growing collaboration is a visit to Peter Mac by Professor Gary Rodin MD, the Head of the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Global Institute of Psychosocial, Palliative and End-of-Life Care (GIPPEC) at the University of Toronto.
Professor Rodin is the keynote speaker for Peter Mac’s upcoming Trevor Anderson lecture and will present on the need to focus on the psychological and social aspects of cancer care to ensure these develop at the same pace as advances in biomedicine and physical cancer treatments.
Date: Wednesday 14 December, 2022
Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Location: Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Level 7, Lecture Theatre B
You can register for this special event by completing this form (numbers are limited) or stream the lecture online here.
A new study has found young breast cancer patients who pause their endocrine treatment to try to get pregnant have no increased risk of recurrence in the short term. and most women were able to conceive with more than 60 percent having a baby.
Patients who paused their endocrine therapy experienced short-term rates of breast cancer recurrence similar to women who did not pause therapy for pregnancy, and many went on to conceive and deliver healthy babies, according to results from the POSITIVE clinical trial presented at the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Professor Christobel Saunders, consultant surgeon at Peter Mac and the James Stewart Chair of Surgery at the University of Melbourne was the lead investigator in Australia for the study which enrolled patients from 116 hospitals across 20 countries.
Forty to 60 percent of patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 or younger are concerned about their future fertility, especially if the disease occurs before they could decide whether to become a mother or not.
Young women with early-stage hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer are often treated with endocrine therapy, such as ovarian function suppression, aromatase inhibitors, or selective estrogen receptor modulators.
“This study confirms breast cancer patients who stop hormone therapy to become pregnant did not experience worse short-term recurrence rates,” Professor Saunders said.
“Women now know there is hope if they want a family.”
To examine the impact of pausing endocrine therapy to pursue pregnancy, researchers designed the single-arm POSITIVE clinical trial (Pregnancy Outcome and Safety of Interrupting Therapy for Women with Endocrine Responsive Breast Cancer).
From December 2014 through December 2019, 518 women aged 42 or younger who desired to become pregnant enrolled in the study, opting to pause endocrine therapy for approximately two years to try to get pregnant. Before pausing their treatment, women had completed between 18 and 30 months of adjuvant endocrine therapy.
Researchers found that the percentage of women whose breast cancer came back (8.9%) was comparable to what occurred in patients enrolled in other studies (9.2%).
In addition, with a total of 365 babies born to women in the study, the rates of conception and childbirth were similar to, or higher, than rates in the general population.
The study is sponsored and conducted by the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG), a division of ETOP-IBCSG Partners Foundation, and by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology in North America, in collaboration with the Breast International Group (BIG). The study concept was initiated within the BIG-NCTN (National Clinical Trials Network) Endocrine Working Group, then developed, and coordinated globally by the IBCSG to address this important, patient-oriented, unmet medical need.
Peter Mac is very pleased to announce six of our staff were successful NHMRC Ideas Grant applicants for 2023.
The NHMRC ideas grants are designed to support researchers at all stages of their career with innovative and creative medical research ideas. The research can span discovery to implementation and the grants are highly competitive.
Peter Mac is very pleased to announce six of our staff were successful applicants for 2023.
Congratulations to Dr Dineika Chandrananda, Associate Professor Nick Clemons, Dr Luc Furic, Dr Ali Motazedian, Associate Professor Karen Sheppard, and Dr Anna Trigos.
A brief description of their innovative research ideas are listed below:
Dr Dineika Chandrananda - “Tracking transcriptional evolution using circulating tumour DNA”
Tumours shed small amounts of DNA into the patient’s bloodstream known as circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Because of this a simple blood test allows us to study the cancer, and can offer a non-invasive alternative to tissue biopsies. Dr Chandrananda will use ctDNA in the blood to study how cancer evolves and becomes resistant to treatment in advanced breast cancer. This method is generalisable across tumour types and has the potential to transform real-time cancer monitoring.
Associate Professor Nick Clemons - “Overcoming ferroptosis resistance to improve outcomes in oesophageal cancer”
Compared to normal tissues, oesophageal cancers increase their consumption of nutrients from the surrounding environment. Oesophageal cancers also change the way they use these nutrients in order to survive, grow, spread to other organs and become resistant to treatments. This research project will identify which nutrients oesophageal cancers depend on to survive. Dr Clemons will develop strategies to exploit these dependencies and improve the efficacy of treatments used to combat oesophageal cancer.
Dr Luc Furic - “Codon bias and the role of tRNA modifications in cancer”
Cancer is characterised by a high rate of cell growth and proliferation. Cancer cells need to increase their biomass to divide and this is dependent on the synthesis of proteins. Small molecules that carry the building blocks needed for protein synthesis are called transfer RNA (tRNA) and they are responsible for decoding the information contained in messenger RNA (mRNAs). Recently it was discovered that tRNA are chemically modified in a dynamic manner and that these modifications could be targeted as a way to strongly inhibit tumour growth and progression. This research project will try to determine the impact of changes to tRNA and how best to target the tRNA to stop cancer growing. This pathway could be applicable to a wide range of cancers.
Dr Ali Motazedian - “Understanding clonal hierarchy and tissue reconstruction post injury”
Millions of blood cells are made by the body every day in specialised organ compartments. T-cells are white blood cells and make up an important part of the immune system that fights infections and cancer. In this study, we aim to find out how blood stem cells turn into T-cells as they move through different organ compartments. We are trying to understand how the blood system is regenerated after damage from cancer therapies by stem cell transplants to improve patient outcomes.
Associate Professor Karen Sheppard - “A fat chance for melanoma”
Recently a study in melanoma patients showed that overweight patients did much better on treatment than normal weight patients. This project aims to understand how body fat makes melanoma patients more responsive to therapy. By understanding the biological basis for this association, we can design new therapeutic strategies that will improve the outcomes for melanoma patients and not lead to adverse health effects associated with being overweight.
Dr Anna Trigos - “Spatial analysis to investigate cancer evolution as a complex ecosystem of interacting tumour populations ”
Cancer is a disease where cells grow rapidly, creating tumours. However, all tumour cells are not the same. There can be multiple cell types within a single tumour that most likely interact to help each other grow. This research project will analyse tissue samples from metastatic prostate cancer to understand which tumour cells are cooperating with each other to grow. With this knowledge, we will be able to develop a new type of treatment that kills tumours by disrupting how cells talk with each other, providing new treatment options for prostate cancer patients in the future.
The Barrie Dalgleish Centre for Myeloma and Related Blood Cancers will advance treatment and prevention of one of Australia’s deadliest cancers - Multiple Myeloma - and related blood cancers with poor outcomes.
The new centre will be established through the generosity and vision of the late Dr Barrie Dalgleish, who died from myeloma in 2021. Dr Dalgleish was intent on supporting further research into blood cancers, leaving a substantial gift to advance this work.
The Trustee of the Barrie, Walter and Helene Dalgleish Foundation (Dalgleish Foundation) has committed an initial $5 million, with a further $10 million as milestones are reached.
The new centre will be led by Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) and will also partner with scientists and clinicians at WEHI, The University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital.
Peter Mac Executive Director of Cancer Research, Professor Ricky Johnstone, said the incredibly generous philanthropic funding would drive an exciting program of discovery-based, pre-clinical and clinical research.
“We’ll examine how and why myeloma develops, develop innovative new ways to treat it and enhance the prognosis and quality of life for people with multiple myeloma,” said Professor Johnstone, who is also inaugural Director of the Barrie Dalgleish Centre for Myeloma and Related Blood Cancers.
“We will initially focus on multiple myeloma given this remains an incurable disease but will expand our efforts to related B-cell malignancies and - given the nature of these diseases - any discoveries will be relevant and important for a broad array of blood cancers.
“On behalf of research colleagues at Peter Mac and our participating institutes, we are incredibly grateful to Barrie and the Dalgleish Foundation for this major contribution to blood cancer research.”
Peter Mac’s acting Chief Executive Karen Fox said investments in cancer research were pivotal to securing better outcomes for the next generation of cancer patients.
“This new centre will translate Barrie’s vision and generous contribution into discoveries and innovations that change our understanding of myeloma and other blood cancers and lead to better outcomes for patients,” Mrs Fox said.
Peter D’Ambrosio, chairperson of the Trustee of the Dalgleish Foundation - and cousin of Barrie - said the Board of the Trustee was looking forward to working with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation and research team.
“Barrie was very keen to fund such research and I know he would have been very happy with the team we have met at Peter Mac,” Mr D’Ambrosio said.
“They have brought great focus to the discussions, and we are hopeful that this centre will provide solutions to the eventual cure of these blood cancers.”
Dr Dalgleish’s generous gift is received by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation, and Foundation chief executive Kate Torney said this highlighted the vital role that bequests play in supporting Australian cancer research.
“A gift in a Will of any amount will help Peter Mac researchers to improve the health outcomes of people living with cancer for generations to come,” Ms Torney says.
This year 2,600 Australians were newly diagnosed with myeloma and 1,100 lives were lost to the blood cancer that affects white blood cells. Chance of survival after five years is currently 55%1.
As a group also including lymphoma and leukaemia, blood cancer ranks alongside prostate and breast cancer as Australia’s leading causes of new cancer diagnoses - and alongside lung and colorectal cancer as leading causes of cancer deaths.
Each year 19,403 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer while 5,950 lose their lives to blood cancer or related blood disorders2.
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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.
About Dr Barrie Dalgleish
Dr Barrie Dalgleish was born in Melbourne, attended Northcote High School where he won Dux of School, studied at the University of Melbourne where he gained an arts degree with Honours then continued his education in Canada and UK gaining his Masters and PhD in Psychology. He had a career in psychology, working in academic Institutions internationally for many years, before returning to Australia and working in childhood psychology with a particular interest in childhood development, especially with children with hearing impairment. He co-wrote books in this area. He died from myeloma in 2021.
Hear from a Peter Mac myeloma patient
Peter Mac nurses Reneae McDougall, Elizabeth Crone and Belinda Lambros have been announced as the Learning Health System Academy Fellows for 2023.
The program, which had its inaugural intake this year, is delivered by The Centre for Digital Transformation of Health at The University of Melbourne.
The Fellows will be supported to deliver projects that advance digital health initiatives at Peter Mac, with a view to improving patient outcomes across both Peter Mac and the wider community.
Renae McDougall is a medical health consultation liaison nurse, aiming to lead projects centred on service improvement for consumers. Her project will develop an EMR based solution to help nurses identify patients at risk of clinical aggression and support appropriate, compassionate, and evidence-based interventions and escalation pathways. Renee is working toward her ultimate passion of maintaining high levels of job satisfaction across the nursing workforce and increased efficiency and effectiveness of nursing care throughout the community, using technology and digital health solutions to achieve this.
Elizabeth Crone is a cancer nurse researcher with the Academic Nursing Unit and the Department of Anaesthetics and Pain Management. Her project will implement routine, standardised collection of social determinants of health data for patients with cancer, using a digitally enabled solution. Elizabeth believes in the critical importance of health services research and implementation science as vehicles to examine and innovate health systems and health outcomes.
Belinda Lambros is a nurse practitioner with the Department of Infectious Diseases. She is co-leading the implementation of the precinct-wide adult sepsis pathway in the Electronic Medical Record EPIC, and has a key role monitoring all patients with sepsis at Peter Mac. Belinda’s project will establish a learning health systems framework to implement the clinical care standard, and optimise the implementation and uptake of the sepsis workflows at Peter Mac.
Associate Director of Health Services Research and Implementation Science at Peter Mac, Professor Karin Thursky, congratulates the new Fellows, "This fellowship program is a wonderful way to build a workforce that is skilled in introducing improved models of care using digital health that are evidence based, successful and sustainable."
"We look forward to supporting them and building our community of practice.'