It was a glittering affair in Canberra this week as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presented two of Peter Mac’s senior researchers with honours for their contributions to science and medicine.

Professors Sherene Loi and Mark Dawson attended the ceremony in the nation’s capital on Tuesday night to accept their prestigious Life Scientist of the Year awards.  

Professor Loi was recognised in 2021 for her ground-breaking work in breast cancer, translating scientific findings into innovative treatments that can improve the survival patients around the world, and Professor Dawson’s award for his pioneering research in the field of epigenetics and its impact on human health and disease was announced in 2020.

Announcement of the awards were made in 2020 and 2021 but the presentation was delayed due to COVID-19, culminating in a special event to honour three years of recipients this year. 

Professors Mark Dawson and  Peter Mac’s Professor Andrew Roberts were also officially elected as a fellows of the Australian Academy of Science – the top honour for Australian researchers. 

They attended Canberra’s Shine Dome for the ceremony to sign the Royal Charter on Tuesday attended by the nation’s scientific elite.

The Academy said Professor Dawson’s world leading research program “has provided several paradigm-shifting discoveries into epigenetic mechanisms of cancer stem cell maintenance, resistance to therapies and regulation of immune surveillance”. 

Professor Roberts was elected for leading the first-in-human trial of Venetoclax, before developing combination therapies and leading the first combination trials in leukaemia and lymphoma. 

Professor Dawson’s election was announced in 2021, the same year he was awarded the Academy’s prestigious Jacques Miller Medal, and Professor Roberts in 2020 – with the official signing delayed due to the pandemic. 

Read more about Professors Sherene Loi, Mark Dawson and Andrew Roberts.

Designed for worldwide use, the International COVID-19 Blood Cancer Coalition (ICBCC)’s Patient Impact Statement seeks to raise awareness that blood cancer patients (both acute and chronic) are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

The full Patient Impact Statement can be downloaded here.

Professor John Seymour, Director of Clinical Haematology at Peter Mac and Royal Melbourne Hospital, explains why this is important, “This statement is profoundly important as a step towards achieving the much needed protection from CoVID for patients with blood cancers and others with similar immune compromise. While vaccination is able to provide substantial protection for most of us in the community, despite multiple vaccine doses and regardless of the specific formulation used, patients with blood cancer’s compromised immunity means they do not achieve adequate protection, and remain at high risk of a fatal outcome if they were to contract CoVID.”

 “While many communities move toward normalisation of their activities protected by vaccination, patients with blood cancers are being left behind, and do not have the opportunity for safe resumption of their normal lives. A humane society must strive for equal protections for all members, and this collaborative statement calls for such equity.”

The statement’s recommendations include providing access to fast response COVID-19 testing, access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), additional booster doses of vaccines, and provision of psychological/psycho-oncological services.

It also calls for vaccines to be available globally, and for the involvement of medical institutions of low and middle income countries in clinical studies and trials of new anti-COVID-19 medications.

The ICBCC is a multi-stakeholder coalition of representatives that raises awareness of the impact of the pandemic on blood cancer patients, recommending solutions and actions to mitigate risk.

Peter Mac will continue support the ICBCC as it develops a global campaign with toolkit and materials to raise awareness of the blood cancer community’s needs around COVID-19.

Researchers are designing and manufacturing a state-of-the-art radiotherapy chair to better target cancer cells and provide much-needed comfort for patients.

Radiotherapy is presently delivered with patients lying down on a flat hard carbon-fibre treatment couch. The innovative project is setting out to transform the treatment experience for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Associate Professor Nicholas Hardcastle, who is leading the research project for the next two years, said: “Many radiotherapy patients cannot tolerate lying down, including those with head, neck, or lung cancers, as they can have problems with swallowing, breathing or might suffer from chronic musculoskeletal conditions.

“If a patient is in an upright position, it is not only more comfortable, but it alters the patient anatomy.

“This chair may reduce collateral radiation dose to radiation-sensitive organs that can lead to painful side-effects, such as damage to the lungs and a higher risk of cardiac events.”

A/Prof Hardcastle said half of all cancer patients can benefit from radiation therapy during their cancer treatment.

“Radiation is a very common and beneficial form of treatment for many cancers, in particular, for patients with head, neck, or lung cancers,” A/Prof Nicholas Hardcastle added.

“Treating these patients in an upright position will not only improve a patient’s comfort but will allow them to receive life-saving treatment on an ongoing basis,” A/Prof Hardcastle added.

A/Prof Hardcastle also believes that this chair, once completed, will allow for the development of a first-of-its-kind mobile radiation treatment truck, which could reach thousands of cancer patients living in regional or remote areas.

“Treating patients who are lying down requires expensive technology and needs ample physical space. As a result, radiotherapy is typically only offered in large metropolitan hospitals, leading to inequity in access to treatment.

“Developing smaller equipment, like this chair, could be made mobile and improve access to radiotherapy in regional and remote areas. It has the potential to be a game-changer for thousands of regional cancer patients across the country,” A/Prof Hardcastle added.

A/Prof Hardcastle hopes the chair will be ready to be used in clinical trials by the end of the year.

This work is one of 15 cancer research projects awarded $3.9 million in grants from Cancer Council Victoria in February.

Associate Professor Tom John, Professor Mark Dawson, Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson, Professor Ricky Johnstone and Professor Joseph Trapani were also awarded funding through the Cancer Council Victoria's Grants-in-Aid program.

Cancer Council Victoria has awarded more than $60 million in grants over the last decade and CEO Todd Harper is proud to support Victoria’s leading cancer researchers in their research goals.

“As the largest non-government funder of cancer research in Victoria, we have been awarding fellowships and grants to the very best and brightest cancer researchers for more than 60 years. We are thrilled to be awarding 15 more grants to similarly highly-regarded researchers today,” Mr Harper added.

Cancer Council Victoria supports cancer research projects that are at varying stages of development.

“These projects have the potential to be not only game-changing, but lifesaving, in their impact on people with cancer,” Mr Harper continued.

“Our grants are entirely donor funded and highlight just how important our supporters – the generous Victorian public – are in helping us work towards the next cancer breakthrough.

“The time is now to continue funding our incredible researchers as we work toward a cancer-free future,” Mr Harper added.