NRF Mid Year Brain Tumour Research Wrap-Up 2024
$684,000 brain tumour research funded - Your impact on research
NRF funds $684,000 in 12 project Inc: brain tumour research, PhD’s, Research Assistants, clinical trials and SA Neurological Brain Tumour Bank support in just 3 months.
State-wide Brain Cancer Nurse Consultant
An NRF & SA Health jointly funded collaboration has led to a new state-wide Brain Cancer Nurse Consultant role being introduced into the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) to enhance access to support and care for patients and their families diagnosed with a brain tumour. South Australians with brain cancer, and their loved ones, will benefit from improved practical and emotional support. This will include care, education, advice and coordination for patients in the clinical setting. The position will operate on a state-wide basis and will focus on the two current metropolitan sites: Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre.
Funding partner SA Health
Prof Stuart Pitson
Generate superior preclinical models of human glioblastoma, leading to improved translation of research and better patient outcomes.
Funding partners Nick & Elise Ross and James & Diana Ramsay Foundation
Prof Stuart Pitson
Overcoming the blood-brain barrier for improved brain tumour therapy
Funding partners Private Philanthropic Foundation and Uni SA
A/ Prof Lisa Ebert
Developing new immune-based therapies for brain cancer, specifically glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma is the deadliest form of brain cancer, yet current treatment options are largely ineffective. In response to this desperate need, we are developing a new treatment for glioblastoma, based on a revolutionary type of ‘living drug’ known as CAR-T cells. In this approach, T cells (part of our immune system) are isolated from a patient’s blood and genetically engineered to give them cancer-killing activity.
Funding partner James & Diana Ramsay Foundation
Prof Stuart Pitson
Develop a living paediatric brain cancer biobank through processing of fresh tumour material (resected from children with brain tumours as part of their normal therapy) into patient-specific:
1. cell lines
2. Organoids
3. patient-derived xenograft mouse models of paediatric disease.
Our focus will be on malignant paediatric brain tumours: medulloblastoma, high grade glioma (including anaplastic astrocytoma, diffuse midline glioma (DMG/DIPG) and glioblastoma) and ependymoma. The development and use of these models will facilitate better understanding of the drivers of tumour growth and resistance to current therapies, enable the discovery and evaluation of new therapies, and translation of this research into the clinic.
Funding partner Wilkins Family Foundation
PhD Dr Dione Gardner-Stephen
Identification and assessment of new treatment options for childhood cancer medulloblastoma.
Funding partner Strong Enough to Live (SETL)
PhD Bryan Gardam
Investigating the Dendritic Cell – T Cell Axis in Glioblastoma to Explore New Combination Immunotherapy Treatment Options
Funding partner Strong Enough To Live (SETL)
Dr Rebecca Ormsby
Bree Hodgson - SA Neurological Brain Tumour Bank Research Assistant
The South Australian neurological Tumour Bank (SANTB) is committed to advancing neuro-oncology research in SA. With increasing number of research projects supported an additional FTE is critical to our ability to provide high quality support. This funding will support SANTB Research Assistant.
A/Prof Lisa Ebert and Dr Tessa Gargett
Sidra Nawaz Khan Research Assistant Supporting CAR T Cell Therapy Clinical trials
Supporting Adult and Pediatric Phase 1 Study of Autologous GD2-Specific CAR T Cell Therapy in Recurrent GD2-positive Glioblastoma Multiforme: Ongoing Assessment and Dose Escalation Trial. The requested grant will be used to extend the current 6-month Research Assistant (RA) contract for an additional 6 months, which is essential to ensuring we can continue to effectively manage the growing patient demand for our trials.
Dr Mel Tea and Dr Briony Gliddon
Developing advanced models for recurrent glioblastoma for pre-clinical evaluation of new therapies.
The survival rate for glioblastoma, the most common malignant primary brain tumour in adults, has barely improved, due to limited treatment options. Despite aggressive treatment, and irrespective of initial response to standard therapy, most patients succumb to the disease due to recurrence of the primary tumour through mechanisms of resistance. This proposal aims to identify specific mechanisms by which these complex tumours develop resistance to existing therapies and to develop clinically relevant models to assess approaches to overcome these mechanisms.
Dr Marguerite Harding and Dr Vanesa Tomatis
Sex Hormone Receptors Expression in Meningiomas: An Audit of Progesterone, Oestrogen and Androgen Receptor Expression in South Australian Meningioma Patients
This research project aims to audit the expression of sex hormone receptors in meningioma tumours to expand current knowledge on the relationship between hormone receptor expression, tumour molecular characteristics and patient demographics, presentation of the disease and survival. We aim to better understand meningioma risk factors, disease progression and clinical outcomes. The outcomes of this project will serve as foundation for the development of bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, and preclinical ex vivo models for the identification and functional exploration of new pharmacological targets for adjuvant hormone therapy in meningioma management.
Dr James McNeil and A/Prof Sunita De Sousa
Pituitary Tumour research at Royal Adelaide Hospital
Tumours of the pituitary gland (located beneath the brain) are common, affecting 1/1000 people. Prolactinomas (defined by hypersecretion of prolactin hormone) are the most frequent pituitary tumour subtype. Currently, no functional imaging tests are available for the diagnosis of prolactinomas. In this world-first study, we will assess the ability of a radiotracer, 18F-FDOPA, to provide functional information about these tumours and aid in their diagnosis. 18F-FDOPA is currently used to assess Parkinson’s disease and is therefore an established, safe radiotracer. Here, we will demonstrate its ability to diagnose prolactinomas and inform management decisions e.g., surgical planning and responsiveness to medications.
