The Effect Of Exogenous Hormones, Smoking And HPV On The Incidence Of Screen Detected Pre-invasive Cervical Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,201,168.00
Summary
Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women internationally. About 15,000 women are detected in NSW annually as having pre-invasive cervical cancer (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade I, II or III). Infection with certain high risk human papillomaviruses is known to be necessary for the development of cervical cancer. In addition, recent long term exposure to smoking and to hormonal contraception are two new factors considered as independent risk factors for ....Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women internationally. About 15,000 women are detected in NSW annually as having pre-invasive cervical cancer (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade I, II or III). Infection with certain high risk human papillomaviruses is known to be necessary for the development of cervical cancer. In addition, recent long term exposure to smoking and to hormonal contraception are two new factors considered as independent risk factors for the disease. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations taken around the menopause are a similar composition to hormonal contraceptives, (oestrogen and progestogen), therefore women on HRT may also be at increased risk. No comprehensive study exists internationally to measure the relative importance of these exogenous hormones on the development of pre-invasive cervical cancer in a way that is of public health relevance (e.g. recent long-term use of oral contraceptives and time since stopped, and among smokers and non-smokers). No Australian data are available on the proportion of women who are current users of hormonal contraceptives or HRT. No local prevalence data on the major high risk HPV subtypes (e.g. 16, 18, 33, 45) are available for Australia to describe its distribution and to inform the cervical screening program and future vaccine initiatives. The NSW Pap Test Register holds the screening history of all women on the cervical screening program, hence this is an ideal source for recruiting a representative sample into a study. We wish to conduct a large study of ~2600 NSW women using the NSW Pap Test Register to measure the relative importance of hormones, smoking and HPV infection on the development of CIN II or III.Read moreRead less
Improving Sexual Health In Men With Prostate Cancer: Randomised Controlled Trial Of Exercise And Psychosexual Therapies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,416.00
Summary
Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common and distressing side effects of prostate cancer. Despite being a critical survivorship care issue, there is a clear gap in knowledge surrounding the optimal treatment of sexual dysfunction in men with prostate cancer. This project examines whether exercise aids in the management of sexual dysfunction and explores if an integrated treatment model incorporating pharmacological, exercise and psychosexual therapies maximises improvement in sexual health.
Immunotherapy In Mismatch Repair-deficient Colorectal Cancers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
A new drug called PD-1 is effective in treating bowel cancers occurring in people at high risk of cancer called Lynch syndrome but little is known why PD-1 is effective at treating these cancer types. Initial studies have found that certain attributes of these cancers such as high amounts of inflammation may help to predict why these cancers respond to PD-1 but further studies of these tumors are needed to identify other tumor characteristics that may help predict responsiveness to PD-1.
Determining The Clinical Relevance Of Intratumour Heterogeneity In Breast Cancer And Its Relationship To Metastases Formation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
Breast cancer metastasis is generally an incurable disease, yet it is not well-understood. This project aims to understand how cancer metastasises by using a novel and unique approach of analysing multiple regions from matched primary and metastatic tumours from breast cancer patients. Expected outcomes include identifying predictors of treatment resistance and resultant personalised management and therapeutic strategies to improve survival outcomes of breast cancer patients.
Identifying The Missing Heritability Of Breast Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,104.00
Summary
One of the strongest risk factors for the development of breast cancer is having a close relative with the disease. Some advances have been made in understanding the specific genetic factors that underlie this susceptibility but these known genetic factors only explain about a third of the overall familial effects. This research will utilise our prior research, international research resources, new technology and supercomputing to identify the majority of genetic factors associated with breast c ....One of the strongest risk factors for the development of breast cancer is having a close relative with the disease. Some advances have been made in understanding the specific genetic factors that underlie this susceptibility but these known genetic factors only explain about a third of the overall familial effects. This research will utilise our prior research, international research resources, new technology and supercomputing to identify the majority of genetic factors associated with breast cancer susceptibility.Read moreRead less