Integrating Conventional Mesothelioma Therapies With Immuno- And Gene-therapies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$804,916.00
Summary
Asbestos-induces cancers are some of the most aggressive cancers know to medicine. Unfortunately, treatments are not very effective and it is unusual for these cancers to be cured, particularly mesothelioma. Because recent scientific studies have suggested that combinations of therapy which include immunotherapy, ie treatments aimed at stimulating the bodies anti-cancer immune responses to attack the cancer, can be effective, we plan to develop this work in order to determine exactly which combi ....Asbestos-induces cancers are some of the most aggressive cancers know to medicine. Unfortunately, treatments are not very effective and it is unusual for these cancers to be cured, particularly mesothelioma. Because recent scientific studies have suggested that combinations of therapy which include immunotherapy, ie treatments aimed at stimulating the bodies anti-cancer immune responses to attack the cancer, can be effective, we plan to develop this work in order to determine exactly which combinations are likely to be the most effective and therefore the most suitable for clinical trial in patients.Read moreRead less
Inhaling asbestos fibres causes cancer (both mesothelioma and lung cancer). These are related to the amount of asbestos inhaled. This study will look at lung tissue removed from people for other medical reasons to see if those at high risk (e.g. construction workers) have benefited from the laws restricting asbestos use. We hope to predict rates of these cancers in the future from these results, based on the numbers of fibres seen in the lungs.
Conditionally Replicative Adenoviruses For Mesothelioma Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,600.00
Summary
Australia has one of the highest incidences of mesothelioma in the world. The clinical outcome for patients with this disease is extremely poor, with median survival of only 6-9 months. The latest developments in chemotherapy, radiotherapy and radical surgery have done little to improve the overall survival rate. New approaches to therapy are thus required. Oncolytic therapy using conditionally replicative adenoviruses (CRAds) is a novel and promising approach to cancer treatment. This strategy ....Australia has one of the highest incidences of mesothelioma in the world. The clinical outcome for patients with this disease is extremely poor, with median survival of only 6-9 months. The latest developments in chemotherapy, radiotherapy and radical surgery have done little to improve the overall survival rate. New approaches to therapy are thus required. Oncolytic therapy using conditionally replicative adenoviruses (CRAds) is a novel and promising approach to cancer treatment. This strategy relies on selective viral replication in (and therefore death of) tumour cells but not normal cells. In principle, mesothelioma is an attractive target for this therapeutic approach owing to its propensity to remain localised to the pleural space until late in the disease. However, for any CRAd strategy to succeed, viral replication must be limited to the tumour cells so as not to cause unnecessary toxicity to normal tissues. This level of specificity can potentially be achieved by using cell-specific promoters to control the expression of viral genes essential for replication. To date however, there have been no reports evaluating candidate mesothelioma-specific promoters in adenoviral vectors. Furthermore, other issues such as tumour a lack of viral receptors or tumour-associated fibrosis could limit viral spread through a mesothelioma mass and reduce the efficacy of the approach. In this proposal we will contruct and test CRAds which are controlled by promoters which we believe will be highly active in mesothelioma, but very poorly active in other tissues. We will test the ability of these new agents to kill mesothelioma cells in tissue culture, in pieces of mesothelioma tumours removed from patients, and in animal models. If successful, this approach could offer new hope for mesothelioma patients.Read moreRead less
The Impact Of Therapy On T-cell Recognition Of Mutated Tumour Neo-antigens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,126,685.00
Summary
Cancer is caused by mutations which should be 'seen' and destroyed by the patients immune cells, similar to how immune cells protect us against viruses. But they don't. This grant will study how current cancer treatments help the immune cells 'see' these mutations. We will undertake these studies in the important cancers lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Early Detection Of Lung Cancer And Mesothelioma In Asbestos Workers At Highest Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$623,268.00
Summary
Through no fault of their own, many Australian workers have been inadvertently exposed to asbestos and are at high risk of developing lung cancer and mesothelioma. With the peak incidence bearing upon us, there is an urgent need for early detection by CT.
I am a salaried-full time Physician in Respiratory Medicine at a major teaching hospital with postgraduate training, research experience and qualifications in clinical medicine and the epidemiology of occupational and environmental lung diseases and cance
The National Centre For Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,500,000.00
Summary
The National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases is a world-leading centre studying the deadly cancers mesothelioma and lung cancer. Our ongoing Centre of Research Excellence program includes research from the development and genetics of asbestos-related cancers, through to new treatments, novel ways of imaging cancer, and the supportive care of people with these cancers. This program will improve the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer.
Asbestos-induced cancer is a big problem in the world. This Centre of Research Excellence application is to continue our highly successful National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, widely acknowledged as the world leader. We will ‘crack the cancer genetic code’, generate vaccines, discover better blood tests and new cancer imaging techniques and therapies. We will continue to train the next generation of researchers through our strong program and international collaborative network.
Novel Surgery-chemotherapy-immunotherapy Approaches For Lung Malignancies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$662,819.00
Summary
Many patients undergo cancer surgery every year yet still die of cancer over the next few years because the surgeon couldnt remove all of the cancer cells, many of which were undetectable at the time of surgery. This grant will develop ways of combining chemotherapy drugs with immune therapy to 'mop up' hidden residual cancer cells after operations - the immune system, when stimulated appropriately, should be able to 'seek and destroy' those hidden deposits and thus cure these cancers.