At present, the five-year survival rate for liver cancer is just 14 per cent for Indigenous Australians and 20 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians. It is estimated that 2,832 Australians will be diagnosed with liver cancer this year alone, with men three times as likely to be diagnosed as women.
While Australia boasts enormous research and clinical expertise in metabolic, infective, and inflammatory liver diseases, and is a world leader in the science and clinical practice of liver transplantation, there is not a single major program working on liver cancer.
"…there is not a single major program working on liver cancer."
A collaboration between Peter Mac, the University of Melbourne and the VCCC Alliance Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre houses more than 100 cancer immunology researchers and clinicians from six VCCC Alliance member organisations, working together to discover, improve and translate immunotherapy treatments into clinical care for patients.
Immune-based therapies are revolutionising cancer outcomes, even in very advanced cases of diseases such as melanoma, lung cancer, and leukaemia.
Guided by leadership from the Centre’s Director Prof Joe Trapani, the VCCC Alliance is planning to establish a collaborative research program – harnessing Australia’s world-leading expertise in virology, metabolic liver disease, and cancer immunotherapy – to investigate the causation of liver cancer and the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Support for the proposal will also enable researchers to identify new ways to harness the immune system to develop much-needed biomarkers of early liver cancer, and new classes of immune-based therapeutics to be tested in early-phase clinical trials, and ultimately to treat it.
One of the ongoing challenges for scientists in Australia is the constant difficulty of obtaining discovery and translational research funding. This is particularly evident in areas of cancer research striving to improve outcomes for First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
A recent review by our equity program team showed that only 0.1 per cent of MRFF/NHMRC/ARCs grants went to medical research relating to cancer in Australia's First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Aside from the Cancer Australia grant schemes that dedicate an allocation of funding for First Nations and CALD communities, the analysis highlights a disparate gap between research funding awards and the well-documented unequal outcomes in these populations.
As highlighted in our World Cancer Day, Close the Care Gap event this week, the challenges we face in creating more cancer equitable outcomes for all Australians require brave, honest and deliberate actions that shake up the status quo.
For that reason, I am excited that we will be playing a role in VACCHO’s new Aboriginal cancer Journey Strategy and am glad that the Victorian Government has committed $1 million to develop it.
I am delighted how the VCCC Alliance’s Research and Education Lead in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Dr Kalinda Griffiths, a Yawuru woman, has hit the ground running in leading our equity program with Prof Jenny Philips of St Vincents Hospital and the University of Melbourne.
There continues to be a disproportionate burden of lung cancer among Australian First Nations communities.
Cancer Australia is currently working towards a national lung screening program to sit alongside other population-based screening programs in Australia – the national breast cancer screening program (BreastScreen Australia), the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP), and the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP).
A nationally based advisory group is providing clinical input and strategic advice to shape the design of the program and I am pleased to acknowledge the appointment of Associate Professor Gavin Wright, VCCC Alliance Research and Education Lead, Lung Cancer as the new Chair. Gavin is a pioneer of robotic thoracic surgery in Australasia and is internationally regarded for his role in lung cancer research and clinical trials. He will undoubtedly be a positive force in the development of the potential screening program.
The VCCC Alliance Cancer Research Advisory Committee (CRAC) plays a key role in the strategic direction of the alliance and two appointments will extend our leadership in cancer health services research and paediatric oncology.
Professor Maarten J. IJzerman has immense knowledge across all domains of cancer and a firm grasp on international health systems so I’m delighted that he is the new committee Chair in 2022. Maarten also co-chairs our Value-Based Healthcare program and leads The Advanced Genomics Collaboration (TAGC) Health Economics Platform, an Illumina and University of Melbourne partnership that uses national and global-scale genomic datasets to provide evidence-based guidance for public policy and investment.
Professor David Eisenstat, Director of the Children’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital has excelled as Cancer Centre Director spanning both adult and children’s cancers and we are pleased to also welcome him to the committee. RCH forms part of the collaborative Melbourne Children’s Campus with affiliations with the RCH Foundation, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the Dept of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne and has research links to Peter Mac and WEHI.
Congratulations to leaders from alliance member organisations who were awarded in the Australia Day Honours list 2022. Among those recognised were a number of women from Peter Mac. Congratulations to Professor Maxine Morand AM, Professor Prue Francis AM, and Mary Duffy AM. Mary is the inaugural Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Nurses Forum and has worked with lung cancer patients for over 20 years.
Professor Fary Khan AM from the Royal Melbourne Hospital was recognised for her contributions to rehabilitation medicine, to research, and to professional societies. I am delighted Prof Khan will be working with the VCCC Alliance and MPCCC on a new leadership group in Geriatric Oncology.
Mark Sullivan AO is a leader in drug development in Australia. Many will be familiar with his achievements in developing breakthrough drugs for combatting infectious diseases and for developing new clinical models to develop drugs for early-stage metastasis.
Liz Dawes, Founder of the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation, and a huge supporter of brain cancer research, including exciting programs at WEHI, was honoured with an OAM.
We extend our warmest congratulations to all and others in the sector for their well-deserved recognition.
A reminder to all, the period of consultation for the Australian Cancer Plan 2023-2033 is coming to an end with submissions due by 4 March, 2022. I urge you to contribute if you haven’t already.
For those physically or virtually attending the Lorne Conference across the next few days, I wish you a productive and inspiring meeting. Make the most of the time set aside and make sure you visit our VCCC Alliance booth while you are there. The Lorne conference is a personal favourite and makes a vital contribution to connecting emerging cancer researchers with senior professionals locally and overseas.
Finally, thank you to all who set aside personal considerations to respond to the summer surge in admission numbers and the Code Brown emergency, let’s hope that the peak is behind us and the rest of 2022 will see us transition to a much more manageable 'COVID-normal'.
Professor Grant McArthur
Executive Director
