Proudly supporting Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and cancer vaccine development
Imagine if a vaccine could be developed to help beat childhood cancer. We’re delighted to be supporting world-leading immunology research spearheaded by Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation (PCHF) that could lead to just that.
Our donation to PCHF will fund the role of Principal Research Fellow, Alec Redwood, and an incoming Bioinformatician, who will collaborate with Professor Nick Gottardo from Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) and the team at University of Western Australia to crack one of the biggest mysteries of cancer: why immunotherapy hasn’t worked in children.
Cancer immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells and has revolutionised the treatment of certain adult cancers including advanced stage melanoma and a deadly form of brain cancer.
Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO, Carrick Robinson, said the ground-breaking project could transform the future of childhood cancer treatment.
“We’re incredibly grateful KWCF is supporting these instrumental roles and helping us make a lasting impact on the lives of kids with cancer today and in the future,” Mr Robinson said.
Focusing on two of the most common childhood cancers, leukaemia and brain cancer, researchers are aiming to understand why new immune-based therapies, which have successfully treated some adult cancers, haven’t been effective in childhood cancers.
“It could be completely game-changing, if you find the reason why they don’t respond and adapt so that they do, you are bringing in a new therapy that will hopefully be much more effective than current treatments but equally less damaging, because it’s using an existing system in the body,” said Professor Gottardo, Head of Department of Paediatric Oncology and Haemotology, PCH.
Research findings will guide the development of future immunotherapy cancer vaccines offering an entirely new personalised therapeutic approach with lower toxicity. Cancer vaccines are well tolerated and less toxic than conventional therapies and take advantage of the natural ability of cells to distinguish between what is normal and abnormal.
“It could lead to practice-changing paradigms for kids not just in WA but all over the world,” Professor Gottardo added.
Cancer vaccines could revolutionise cancer treatment for the hundreds of Australian children diagnosed each year.
We’re proud to support PCHF and ground-breaking research which could make a significant difference to the lives of kids with cancer across Australia and beyond.
