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
Sellar Masses, Pituitary Adenomas And Pathways Of Pituitary Tumourigenesis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$90,917.00
Summary
Pituitary tumours encompass a number of pathologies. Their cause is not clearly established. Pituitary adenomas are one of the most frequent intracranial tumours. The genetics of sporadic tumours is unknown. Craniopharyngiomas are rare brain tumours arising in the pituitary stalk area that can have profound effects, presenting in childhood or later. To date there is limited knowledge on the cell signaling pathways causing these tumors, which can help to understand cancer in general.
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.
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.
A Systematic Evaluation Of The Neurosurgical Application Of Peri-operative And Intra-operative MR Tractography In Different Paediatric Disease States
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$130,910.00
Summary
My research investigates changes in brain nerve fibre tracts/white matter in paediatric disease states and changes related to surgery by using nerve fibre tract imaging before, during and after surgery. It will also generate an imaging atlas to help understand white matter pathway development. It then serves as normative comparison to better understand aberrations in diseased neural pathways. The outcome will aid understanding in brain development, recovery and plasticity, and helps improve whit ....My research investigates changes in brain nerve fibre tracts/white matter in paediatric disease states and changes related to surgery by using nerve fibre tract imaging before, during and after surgery. It will also generate an imaging atlas to help understand white matter pathway development. It then serves as normative comparison to better understand aberrations in diseased neural pathways. The outcome will aid understanding in brain development, recovery and plasticity, and helps improve white matter lesion localisation.Read moreRead less
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.
The blood-brain barrier is a major impediment to the treatment of brain tumours because it prevents most anti-cancer drugs from entering the brain, and brain tumour, from the bloodstream. This proposal examines new approaches to open the blood-brain barrier to allow the use of existing highly potent anti-cancer drugs as brain cancer therapies. Successful outcomes of this work could lead to substantial improvements in the outcomes for brain tumour patients.
Towards Predicting Brain Deformations For Image-guided Neurosurgery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$304,281.00
Summary
We will significantly improve the efficiency of image-guided neurosurgery for brain tumours by creating a novel system to improve intra-operative visualisation and navigation utilising realistic prediction of brain deformations based on a biomechanical model. The system will create an augmented reality visualisation of the intra-operative configuration of the patient's brain merged with high resolution pre-operative imaging data in order to better localise the tumour and critical healthy tissues ....We will significantly improve the efficiency of image-guided neurosurgery for brain tumours by creating a novel system to improve intra-operative visualisation and navigation utilising realistic prediction of brain deformations based on a biomechanical model. The system will create an augmented reality visualisation of the intra-operative configuration of the patient's brain merged with high resolution pre-operative imaging data in order to better localise the tumour and critical healthy tissues.Read moreRead less
Targeting Mitochondrial Metabolism In Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas As A Novel Therapeutic Strategy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$607,796.00
Summary
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) represents the most aggressive cancer of childhood, with no effective treatments available, and almost all children dying within one year of diagnosis. We have successfully grown the first DIPG cells in the laboratory and found a new approach to attack them, by specifically targeting the cell's power source - the mitochondria. We will build on these findings and develop this treatment strategy with the aim to make this novel therapy available to children w ....Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) represents the most aggressive cancer of childhood, with no effective treatments available, and almost all children dying within one year of diagnosis. We have successfully grown the first DIPG cells in the laboratory and found a new approach to attack them, by specifically targeting the cell's power source - the mitochondria. We will build on these findings and develop this treatment strategy with the aim to make this novel therapy available to children with this deadly disease.Read moreRead less