Cancer Research Projects
Unlocking the mysteries of Cancer: Six research projects detecting, preventing and treating cancer
1. EFFECTIVE DRUG TREATMENT
Pierre Moens, Centre for Bioactive Discovery in Health & Ageing, School of Science & Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW.
“Cancer has recently overtaken cardiovascular disease as the number one killer in Australia. More than 42,000 Australians are expected to die from cancer in 2009 (Cancer Council Australia). This increase in the number of deaths from cancer correlates not only with the ageing of the population but also with the relative success in treatment of cardiovascular diseases as compared to cancer.”
“What is urgently needed is targeted therapies for killing cancer cells with low systemic toxicity, as opposed to current mainstream therapies that are primarily non-specific and highly toxic.”
“The key to developing targeted therapies is obtaining a better understanding of the molecular basis of cancer. Understanding the dynamics of the interactions between molecules that alter the tumourigenicity of cancer cells will provide insights into the mechanisms of cancer development. This will lead to the generation of better, more efficient, and more cost-effective drugs.”
“Recent groundbreaking work has highlighted the relationship between the levels of a protein called profilin and cancer aggressiveness. There is strong evidence that profilin is involved in cell migration and metastasis, making this protein an outstanding therapeutic target in the fight against cancer, and in particular breast cancer. Some exciting possible outcomes of our research are that by understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the function of profilin in cancer, we will discover new ways to prevent the development of cancer as well as new potential targets for drug development. To achieve these goals, we are combining many different approaches including biochemistry, structural biology, cell biology and biophysics. We are also taking advantage of cutting-edge developments in molecular imaging and image analysis, which not only provides spatial but dynamic information. Finally, profilin has been linked to several other diseases such as Huntington’s disease, Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. So exploring the molecular mechanisms of profilin can potentially help our understanding and the development of treatments, not only for cancer but also for many other diseases.”
2. FINDING EFFECTIVE DRUG THERAPY FOR LEUKAEMIA
Wallace Langdon is currently an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia.
“Leukaemia is a major health problem in Australia and around the world and most current treatments require high-dose chemotherapy with consequent morbidity and mortality. Targeted therapies offer hope to reduce these major side effects but are dependent on a greater understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that promote and maintain the leukaemic state.”
“A hot issue in leukaemia, and indeed all cancer research, is the development of drugs tailored to specifically target and neutralise the activity of the altered proteins that drive the growth and survival of cancer cells. These treatments are based on the molecular characteristics of the specific tumour and their development will bring us closer to an era of personalised medicine. Another hot issue in leukaemia research is that for new treatments to be fully effective they must kill leukaemia-initiating cells and not just the differentiated progeny. These leukaemia-initiating cells are rare and since they propagate the bulk of the leukaemic cells, a cure can only be achieved when they are completely eliminated. Unfortunately these cells are resistant to chemotherapy and current targeted therapies. Therefore, it’s crucial to identify and target the proteins on which the survival of these cells is dependent, while at the same time not harming normal blood-producing cells.”
“Researchers in this field hope to develop rapid diagnostic procedures that identify mutated genes and activated biochemical pathways in leukaemia-initiating cells. Drugs that target the activated proteins in these pathways could then be administered to cure the leukaemia. Studying the mechanisms of how blood stem cells can be altered from their tightly controlled program of self-renewal and differentiation to cause a life-threatening disease is an important and challenging area of research. ”
3. HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE SURVIVE CANCER
Associate Professor David Thomas is a NHMRC-funded Victorian Cancer Agency Research Fellow in the Ian Potter Foundation Centre for Cancer Genomics and Predictive Medicine at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
“Cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death in young people. There is good evidence that survival for this group is worse than for children with the same diseases. The reasons for this are not understood, partly because of a lack of research into this area. My work spans fundamental research into the biology of sarcomas, a key set of cancers affecting young people, right through to creating a national infrastructure for clinical trials and the development of innovative healthcare delivery. We want to address the needs of young people with cancer and support research aimed at improving survival and psychosocial outcomes.”
“Australia has the capacity to establish a national organisation focused on improving outcomes for young people with cancer, through a program of basic, translational, clinical and health services research. We have outstanding raw material for building such a structure, and the resources to move forward. I believe that Australia will make fundamental and ground-breaking contributions in understanding and addressing the challenges faced by young people with cancer over the next decade.”
4. BEATING BREAST CANCER
John Forbes, Global Director Research, ANZ. Funded by the NHMRC.
“More than 20,000 women in Australia and 1.4 million globally are diagnosed with breast cancer each year – mothers, wives, sisters and daughters; and incidence is increasing – 0.5% per year in developed countries and 3% per year in developing countries. The Australian New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group (ANZ BCTG), based at the University of Newcastle and Calvary Mater Hospital, has conducted trials for women at risk of, or suffering from, breast cancer since 1978. Fortunately, clinical trials research has led to a fall in deaths from breast cancer by 2% per year since 1990 and this trend is continuing. Clinical trials provide access to best quality care and, through international collaboration, researchers and women in Australia have earlier access to new effective treatments.”
“Our recent success with trials for prevention of hormone-sensitive breast cancer in women at increased risk (International Breast Intervention Study) have made prevention of breast cancer a reality. Biomarkers, such as breast density, must be developed for prevention and screening to be targeted to women at greatest risk – currently we screen 1,000 postmenopausal women to find three breast cancers. Biomarkers could also identify cancers responding or resistant to new drug treatments, to target responsive tumours and to avoid costs and morbidity of ineffective treatments. Further, gene expression profiles may identify tumours with good and poor prognoses. New treatment paradigms with drug treatment given before, rather than after surgery will help facilitate research about more effective approaches.”
“I can envisage a world without breast cancer. The downward linear trend in mortality since 1990, if maintained, would reach zero around 2040. If we can maintain research quality and build our collaborations, we will see effective prevention and individualised treatment with more women living without breast cancer.”
5. FINDING ANSWERS ABOUT CANCER
Adele Green is Deputy Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and Head of its Cancer and Population Studies Unit. She is funded by the NHMRC.
“Cancer epidemiology provides answers about cancer causation, treatment and prevention that no other area can. This is because it takes a broader perspective of cancer as experienced by the community and also because it works at the interface of laboratory-based and clinic-based cancer research.
“It also looks at how widely the rates of cancer occurrence can vary in the human population in Australia and how environments very different to Australia’s modify this global variation.”
Three New Approaches:
• Understanding how human environments – in the broadest sense of the word – cause different types of cancer, across the full range of human genetic susceptibility.
• Communicating the evidence that cancer researchers generate in ways that engage the community, and influence clinical practice and government policy for better health – including targeting disadvantaged community/patient sectors.
• Discovering if quality of nutrition, including types of foods and vitamin/mineral supplementation, have a role in cancer prevention.
“It is essential that we have a high standard of state-based registers relating to cancer occurrence, matched with researchers’ ability to compile comprehensive databases that integrate information about lifestyles, medical and family histories and pathology for healthy and affected community members. For example, the collaborative Australian Ovarian Cancer Study resource comprises detailed risk factor data, blood and tissue samples and extensive clinical information for 1,800 women with ovarian cancer, and data and blood samples for 1,000 women without cancer. There is no comparable resource anywhere for Australian and international researchers studying ovarian cancer.”
This article was originally published in Australian Health and Medical Research – Working to Build a Healthy Australia.