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Medulloblastoma (MB) consists of four core molecular subgroups with distinct clinical features and prognoses. Treatment consists of surgery, followed by radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Despite this intensive approach, outcome remains dismal for patients with certain subtypes of MB, namely, MYC-amplified Group 3 and TP53-mutated SHH. Using high-throughput assays, six human MB cell lines were screened against a library of 3208 unique compounds. We identified 45 effective compounds from the screen and found that cell cycle checkpoint kinase (CHK1/2) inhibition synergistically enhanced the cytotoxic activity of clinically used chemotherapeutics cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and gemcitabine.
The Zero Childhood Cancer Program is a precision medicine program to benefit children with poor-outcome, rare, relapsed or refractory cancer. Using tumor and germline whole genome sequencing (WGS) and RNA sequencing (RNAseq) across 252 tumors from high-risk pediatric patients with cancer, we identified 968 reportable molecular aberrations.
PTEN mutation occurs in a variety of aggressive cancers and is associated with poor patient outcomes. Recent studies have linked mutational loss of PTEN to reduced RAD51 expression and function, a key factor involved in the homologous recombination (HR) pathway. However, these studies remain controversial, as they fail to establish a definitive causal link to RAD51 expression that is PTEN-dependent, while other studies have not been able to recapitulate the relationship between the PTEN expression and the RAD51/HR function.
A landmark study led by Dr Hetal Dholaria, The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher and Perth Children’s Hospital Oncologist, has confirmed that a “wait and watch” approach for newborns diagnosed with neuroblastoma is not only safe, but effective over the long term.
Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia will share in almost $4 million in grants to continue groundbreaking research to tackle childhood cancer, asthma, respiratory viral infections and more.
Our local legend, brain cancer researcher Jacob Byrne, has crossed the finish line of his final marathon, completing his Big Run for Little Brains - 30 marathons in 30 days, covering 1266km across Perth’s local government areas.
Each year in Australia, around 120 children are diagnosed with brain cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related death in young people.
Projects to improve outcomes for leukaemia patients and reduce skin cancer rates in young Aboriginal people have received funding through Cancer Council WA.
A team of world-leading scientists has secured $5 million in funding from the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society to advance the fight against leukaemia in children with Down syndrome.
One of the researchers who helped crack the code of 10-year-old Northam girl Charlotte Patterson’s incredibly rare disease has received State Government funding that will allow her to use the same methods to rapidly assess the cases of hundreds more patients living with undiagnosed disease.