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Research

Renal Masses in Childhood: An Australian Perspective

Childhood renal masses comprise a heterogeneous group of conditions that have a wide range of presentations. This review outlines an approach to the diagnostic work-up of childhood renal masses and discusses the most common presentations and treatments. Renal tumours make up 5% of childhood cancer in Australia, with Wilms tumour being the most common under age 10 years.

Research

Ion channel modulator DPI-201-106 significantly enhances antitumor activity of DNA damage response inhibitors in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma, a lethal high-grade glioma, has not seen improvements in clinical outcomes in nearly 30 years. Ion channels are increasingly associated with tumorigenesis, and there are hundreds of brain-penetrant drugs that inhibit ion channels, representing an untapped therapeutic resource. The aim of this exploratory drug study was to screen an ion channel drug library against patient-derived glioblastoma cells to identify new treatments for brain cancer. 

News & Events

Landmark research hopes to increase survival rates for aggressive childhood cancer

A new combination of drugs could help to increase survival rates with fewer side effects for some children with one of the most aggressive forms of childhood brain cancer.

Research

Developing and characterising juvenile models of aggressive paediatric brain cancers for the evaluation of novel immunotherapies.

While profound treatment responses have been realised using immunotherapy for some cancer types, this is yet to be seen for paediatric brain cancer patients.

Research

Tissue resident memory T cells: putting cancer cells to sleep and a target for therapy

Tissue resident memory T cells are cancer killing immune cells that have emerged as key players in immune-mediated control of solid cancers, as well as being markers of prognosis and predictors of response to immunotherapy.

People

Professor Nick Gottardo

Head of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology and Haematology, Perth Children’s Hospital; Co-head, Brain Tumour Research Program, The Kids Research Institute Australia

Research

A surveillance clinic for children and adolescents with, or at risk of, hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes

Hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes (HCPS) account for at least 10% of paediatric cancers.1 Li‐Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a dominant HCPS caused by mutations in the TP53 gene and is associated with an 80–90% lifetime risk of cancer, commencing in infancy.2 Children of affected individuals are at 50% risk of inheriting the family mutation.

Research

Whole genome, transcriptome and methylome profiling enhances actionable target discovery in high-risk pediatric cancer

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.

Research

IDH-mutant gliomas in children and adolescents - from biology to clinical trials

Gliomas account for nearly 30% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors in children and adolescents and young adults (AYA), contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. The updated molecular classification of gliomas defines molecularly diverse subtypes with a spectrum of tumors associated with age-distinct incidence.

Research

Unusual paediatric spinal myxopapillary ependymomas: Unique molecular entities or pathological variations on a theme?

We describe two unusual cases of MPE and use DNA methylation analyses to compare their signatures to try and distinguish if these represent a unique subset.