DETECTION OF OCCULT DISSEMINATED TUMOUR CELLS AND TUMOUR DNA IN EARLY STAGE OPERABLE BREAST CANCER PATIENTS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$561,000.00
Summary
Most of the reduction in breast cancer death rate in recent years is due to earlier diagnosis because of mammographic screening. Even among women with very favorable tumours, at least 20% will die of breast cancer. The risk increases to over 50% in less favorable cases of operable early breast cancer. Current practice relies very heavily upon prognostic factors such as lymph node status and tumour size in determining the risk of subsequent failure and the need for therapy. There is a significant ....Most of the reduction in breast cancer death rate in recent years is due to earlier diagnosis because of mammographic screening. Even among women with very favorable tumours, at least 20% will die of breast cancer. The risk increases to over 50% in less favorable cases of operable early breast cancer. Current practice relies very heavily upon prognostic factors such as lymph node status and tumour size in determining the risk of subsequent failure and the need for therapy. There is a significant risk of under treating good prognosis disease patients (20%) and over treating women with intermediate and high risk disease (40%). The first aim of the study is to use novel molecular methodologies to detect breast cancer cells in the blood of patients with early stage breast cancer at diagnosis. The presence of tumour cells will be correlated with the usual prognostic factors used in the management of women with breast cancer. The patients will be followed long-term to clarify the relationship between disseminated tumour cells in the blood and bone marrow and eventual outcome to assess the effectiveness of these new methodologies in patient management. We will also assess new molecular methodologies which will allow us to track very low levels of disease, and thereby monitor the effectiveness of treatment, and allow prediction of impending relapse. Studying the blood of breast cancer patients represents a unique opportunity for determining whether the cancer has spread before surgery and for monitoring of disease after surgical removal of the tumour. This study may prove invaluable in predicting disease free and survival outcomes and provide a more rational approach to the use of chemotherapy in patients with early breast cancer.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Anhedonia In Recovery From Opiate Addiction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$541,022.00
Summary
There is growing evidence that changes occur within the addicted brain reducing a drug user's ability to experience everyday pleasures. In this study, we will examine how a drug user's ability to experience pleasure relates to relapse and recovery. We will conduct a series of tests on a large sample of recently abstinent heroin addicts and follow them for 12 months. This project will provide unique insights that will be of direct relevance to clinical treatment.
Epithelial - Stromal Interactions In Pancreatic Cancer: Role Of Pancreatic Stellate Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,750.00
Summary
The pancreas is the major digestive organ in the body. It is located in the abdomen, draped across the spine behind the stomach. Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of death in this country and in Western Society in general. Most patients with this disease survive only a few months after diagnosis. Even for those in whom a curative operation is undertaken, survival is poor. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy (alone and in combination) result in, at best, limited benefit. Clearly, there is a need for ....The pancreas is the major digestive organ in the body. It is located in the abdomen, draped across the spine behind the stomach. Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of death in this country and in Western Society in general. Most patients with this disease survive only a few months after diagnosis. Even for those in whom a curative operation is undertaken, survival is poor. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy (alone and in combination) result in, at best, limited benefit. Clearly, there is a need for novel approaches to this lethal disease. The proposed project involves an examination of the local tissue reaction around pancreatic cancer. This tissue reaction is usually prominent and the cells involved may determine the extent of local and distant spread of the cancer. Modulation of this tissue reaction may limit pancreatic cancer growth and thus improve outcome.Read moreRead less
Effectiveness Of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy For Preventing Depressive Relapse In Subjects At Very High Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$643,317.00
Summary
More than one in twenty Australians experience depression in a single year and it is commonly a relapsing disorder. At least 60% of people who have had a depressive episode will have another, the vast majority within two years of the index episode, 70% of those who have had two episodes will have a third, and 90% of those with three episodes will have a fourth. The economic burden of depression in Australia has been estimated as perhaps $2.8 billion annually. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy ....More than one in twenty Australians experience depression in a single year and it is commonly a relapsing disorder. At least 60% of people who have had a depressive episode will have another, the vast majority within two years of the index episode, 70% of those who have had two episodes will have a third, and 90% of those with three episodes will have a fourth. The economic burden of depression in Australia has been estimated as perhaps $2.8 billion annually. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an innovative psychological treatment, combining principles of cognitive therapy and mindfulness meditation. It is designed to prevent depressive relapse in people who have recovered from depressive episodes. MBCT aims to teach people to become more aware of, and to relate differently to, their thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations; in particular, to view these thoughts and feelings as passing events in the mind rather than identifying with them. Through gaining these skills in increased awareness of thoughts and feelings, participants in the treatment learn to avoid negative ruminations, which have a powerful role in triggering relapses of depression. Primarily this study aims to examine the effectiveness of MBCT for the first time in Australians with a history of recurring depression. As a large multi-site investigation it will establish the feasibility of bringing MBCT into routine practice in both urban and rural areas of Australia. The study also aims to establish whether the mechanisms by which MBCT is proposed to work - by decreasing rumination, increasing levels of mindfulness and self-awareness - do in fact operate. We also hope to establish whether MBCT also has any impact on anxiety, another disabling condition that commonly occurs with depression. This study will enhance evidence as to whether the treatment of MBCT should be recommended routinely to sufferers with repeated episodes of major depression.Read moreRead less
Contextual Control Over Relapse To Drug Seeking: Behavioural And Neural Mechanisms.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,750.00
Summary
Drug addiction is a major health and societal problem in Australia. It is consistently associated with an adverse impact upon individual users, their families, and communities. Prolonged drug use is associated with increased rates of physical problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease), mental health problems (e.g., depression and anxiety), and criminal involvement (e.g., property crimes and incarceration). A defining feature of drug addiction is that it is a chronically relapsing condition. Between ....Drug addiction is a major health and societal problem in Australia. It is consistently associated with an adverse impact upon individual users, their families, and communities. Prolonged drug use is associated with increased rates of physical problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease), mental health problems (e.g., depression and anxiety), and criminal involvement (e.g., property crimes and incarceration). A defining feature of drug addiction is that it is a chronically relapsing condition. Between 60-80% of addicts attempting to give up drug taking will relapse to drug taking. The behavioural and brain mechanisms which underpin this persistent propensity to relapse are largely unknown. This project studies the behavioural and brain mechanisms for relapse to drug addiction. This project uses a well validated animal model of drug taking to ask why relapse occurs. It will identify some of the environmental antecedents to relapse and the brain mechanisms which mediate relapse. As such, this project will project will provide important information about relapse to drug addiction and may help identify targets for therapeutic intervention and possibly disrupt the addictive cycle.Read moreRead less
Drug addiction is a major health and societal problem in Australia. Relapse is among the most fundamental problems for addicts. This project studies the behavioural and brain mechanisms for relapse to drug seeking. It studies why relapse is more likely in some places than others; the brain mechanisms for this contextual control over relapse; and how relapse to seeking drug rewards is similar to and different from relapse to seeking non-drug rewards.
Drug addiction imposes significant burdens on individual drug users, their families, and communities. This project uses an animal model to identify the brain regions and pathways which mediate extinction of drug seeking and therefore contribute to long-term abstinence from drug-seeking. The work will show how the brain inhibits drug-seeking and will contribute to the important goal of identifying new approaches to preventing relapse to drug-seeking.
Functional Analysis Of Relapse Predictive Genes In Wilms Tumour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$571,311.00
Summary
Wilms tumor is a paediatric kidney cancer, the most common abdominal tumour seen in children. About 20% of Wilms tumour patients have relapsing fatal tumours. We have found two genes that mark tumours which relapse: C-EBPB and CLK1. Characterization of C-EBPB and CLK1 will yield new information regarding the mechanisms underlying development and progression of Wilms tumours, leading to improved treatment for Wilms tumor patients. Both C-EBPB and CLK1 may also have roles in other human cancers.