By MICHELLE HENDERSON
A Melbourne oncologist and researcher focused on improving outcomes for people experiencing lymphoma has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Tony Burgess Medal by the VCCC Alliance.
Associate Professor Eliza Hawkes, Lymphoma Lead and oncologist at Austin Health, and researcher at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, received the award from Professor Burgess in a ceremony at the 2024 VCCC Alliance Awards on Tuesday 19 November.
An Associate Professor in Lymphoma and Related Diseases Registry at Monash University, A/Prof Hawkes was honoured for her innovative program of cancer-focused, collaborative and patient-centred research.
Presenting A/Prof Hawkes with her award, Prof Burgess said she had accomplished remarkable achievements in her career to date. “She has made a very concerted effort to improve patient treatment by introducing new agents right at the cutting edge, including first in human trials,” Prof Burgess said.
Accepting her award, A/Prof Hawkes acknowledged her wider team’s contribution to the research that won her the award. She said the team’s goal was to improve outcomes for lymphoma patients as a whole person, not solely cancer outcomes.
She said the group’s research is co-developed with patient and consumer advocates and includes patient-reported outcomes in lymphoma.
The research looks at the interaction between the individual’s immune system and the microenvironment of the lymphoma – a type of blood cancer which affects people of all ages.
A/Prof Hawkes said she is motivated to treat lymphoma because of its rarity and the patients it disproportionately impacts. Over 6,000 Australians are affected annually, compared to more than 300,000 new breast cancer cases. While it is a relatively small group of patients, it affects everyone from infants to the elderly, but disproportionately affects young people and is becoming one of the most costly cancers to treat.
The research involves more than 350 patients across nine collaborative trials, with the aim to improve treatment efficacy, long-term patient quality of life, and decrease drug toxicity on patients – and is arguably the largest of its kind in the Asia Pacific region.
It involves developing new imaging methods to improve the understanding of the distribution of anti-cancer drugs in the body and the interaction with the individual’s immune system, and investigating how to optimise therapies by combining immunotherapy with new treatment drugs while minimising toxicity to the patient.
“Our goal as a group is to find the right treatment for the right patient at the right time,” A/Prof Hawkes said in her awards ceremony address.
After completing medical oncology training in Melbourne, she undertook a fellowship at the Royal Marsden Hospital, UK and doctoral studies at the University of Melbourne. She is founder and past president of the Australasian Lymphoma Alliance, chaired the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Trials Group Lymphoma Working Party from 2017-2023, and is a member of Steering Committees for Australian National Lymphoma Registry and an international Women in Lymphoma group.
The Tony Burgess Medal has been established to honour the significant contribution of Professor Burgess as a founding member of the VCCC Alliance Board, including the visionary role he played in bringing the integrated model of cancer care to establish the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
