A Prospective Study Of Language Impairment And Recovery Following Surgery For Brain Tumours
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$861,342.00
Summary
This multi-site project will investigate the incidence and nature of post-operative language difficulties (aphasia) in patients following surgery for left hemisphere primary brain tumours. It will provide comprehensive data concerning risk factors for post-surgical aphasia in Australian patients, in addition to important information about the brain lesions responsible for its various clinical presentations. This information will be used to generate recommendations for clinical practice.
The overall incidence of primary brain tumours in the Western world is 10 per 100,000 people. Unlike many other tumours, these occur in patients of all ages and comprise the second most common tumour type among children and young adults. Most brain tumours remain incurable. We are using our expertise in the field of neural stem cell research to characterise tumour cells responsible for resistance to treatment, with the final goal of identifying new targets for therapeutic intervention.
Development Of A Scorpion Toxin For Tumour Imaging
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$529,577.00
Summary
The aim of this project is to develop a tool for visualising tumours during surgery. Surgical removal of tumours remains the foundation of cancer treatment, but the ability to distinguish the margin between cancerous and healthy cells is imprecise. We will explore the potential of a scorpion toxin that selectively targets cancer cells, as a tumour imaging agent. This project has the potential to dramatically enhance patient survival as a result of improving treatments for cancer.
Characterisation Of A New Family Of Proteins Involved In Cell Signalling, RNA Metabolism And Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,880.00
Summary
We have discovered a novel RNA-binding protein (G3BP-2) that is involved in responding to external signals, such as growth factors, at the level of gene expression. Other RNA-binding proteins belonging to the same broad group of proteins are responsible for a host of disease states in mammals including mental retardation, myotonic dystrophy, Huntington?s disease and cancers. Considering the wealth of knowledge accumulated that implicates these proteins to human dysfunction surprisingly few of th ....We have discovered a novel RNA-binding protein (G3BP-2) that is involved in responding to external signals, such as growth factors, at the level of gene expression. Other RNA-binding proteins belonging to the same broad group of proteins are responsible for a host of disease states in mammals including mental retardation, myotonic dystrophy, Huntington?s disease and cancers. Considering the wealth of knowledge accumulated that implicates these proteins to human dysfunction surprisingly few of these RNA-binding proteins have been identified. We have shown that the novel protein discovered in our laboratory is perturbed in cancer and we are interested in characterising its putative role in cancer. The results established in our laboratory so far would indicate that generally, G3BP-2 is expressed in normal tissue and it expression changes in some cancers studied so far. Considering that G3BP-2 lies in a pathway known to be involved in cancer progression it is important to understand what effects the inappropriate expression of G3BP-2 may have on cancer progression and survival. This project is designed to characterise what signals the cell uses to control these proteins and in turn which genes these may effect. In this way we may be able to determine how external signals may effect tumour progression and on what genes this influence is expressed. It would be hoped that this project would increase our understanding of cancer and potentially lead to new diagnostic reagents and therapies in the treatment of cancer.Read moreRead less
Radiotherapy Vs Chemotherapy For Low-grade Gliomas Stratified For Genetic 1p Loss: Efficacy And Quality Of Life Benefits
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,316.00
Summary
Low-grade glioma is an uncommon malignant brain tumour. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy delay growth of this tumour, but cure is uncommon. Currently the goal of treatment is to control tumour growth for as long as possible whilst maintaining quality of life. This study compares treatment with radiotherapy with a new form of chemotherapy to see which treatment controls tumour growth most effectively, which produces the least side effects and which results in the better quality of life.
A 2:1 Randomised Phase II Study Of NivolUmab And Temozolomide Vs Temozolomide In Methylated Newly Diagnosed Elderly Glioblastoma (NUTMEG)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,608,845.00
Summary
Radiotherapy and Temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy treatment for the brain tumour glioblastoma (GBM) is not as effective in elderly patients. If their tumour has a genetic marker called "methylated MGMT", TMZ does work relatively better and is often given alone. Elderly GBM patients with this marker will be randomly selected in this trial to have TMZ alone or TMZ + Nivolumab - a drug that assists the immune system to attack cancer.
Anti-PD 1 Brain Collaboration + Radiotherapy Extension: The ABC-X Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,010,141.00
Summary
The purpose of this research study is to determine whether administering radiotherapy to melanoma brain tumours, in combination with 2 drugs called nivolumab and ipilimumab(also known as Immunotherapy), will be more effective than treating brain tumours with immunotherapy. Patients in this trial will be randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups. Group 1 will receive radiotherapy to their melanoma brain lesion(s), combined with immunotherapy. Group 2 will receive immunotherapy treatment alone.
N-glycosylation In Health And Disease: A Key Role For Ost3p And Ost6p In Regulation Of Substrate Specificity.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$523,084.00
Summary
Protein glycosylation is the addition of complex sugar chains to specific proteins. Proteins on the surface of cells are often glycosylated, and this is important for controlling the interactions between cells that occur in development, cancer and infection. Glycosylation can be regulated, and our research will characterize the mechanisms of this regulation. This will help us understand exactly how glycosylation is important in cancer and development.
The Roles Of EZH2 And FOXO1A In CNS-PNET Pathogenesis.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$467,517.00
Summary
Although CNS-PNETs are the most common embryonal CNS tumours of childhood and cause significant mortality and morbidity, there is a very limited understanding of the pathogenesis of this aggressive disease. This situation is a major handicap to the development of more specific and effective therapies. While a better understanding of the fundamental pathology of CNS-PNETs will have immediate diagnostic implications, the elucidation of the biochemical pathways that are disrupted in these tumours w ....Although CNS-PNETs are the most common embryonal CNS tumours of childhood and cause significant mortality and morbidity, there is a very limited understanding of the pathogenesis of this aggressive disease. This situation is a major handicap to the development of more specific and effective therapies. While a better understanding of the fundamental pathology of CNS-PNETs will have immediate diagnostic implications, the elucidation of the biochemical pathways that are disrupted in these tumours will facilitate the design of new drugs that are specifically directed towards the critical proteins in these pathways. The identification of specific genes and-or pathways that are deregulated in CNS-PNET cells is essential for the development of safer, more directed, and more effective therapies that are urgently required for the treatment of those with this devastating disease.Read moreRead less