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The WA Kids Cancer Centre has a suite of world-leading research projects to unlock new treatments for childhood cancers.
The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway signaling pathway is one of the most commonly mutated pathways in human cancers. In particular, BRAF alterations result in constitutive activation of the rapidly accelerating fibrosarcoma-extracellular signal-regulated kinase-MAPK significant pathway, leading to cellular proliferation, survival, and dedifferentiation.
KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is an aggressive disease with 3-year event-free survival below 40%. Most relapses occur during treatment, with two thirds occurring within 1 year and 90% within 2 years after diagnosis. Outcomes have not improved in recent decades despite intensification of chemotherapy.
W. Joost Ben Lizeth Rachael Tao Omar Lesterhuis Wylie Orozco Morales Zemek Wang Elaskalani BSc PhD BSc, MSc, PhD BSc (Hons), PhD PhD BSc, MSc, PhD
Despite significant advances, outcomes for children with Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21) who develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia remain poor. Reports of large DS-ALL cohorts have shown that children with DS have inferior event-free survival and overall survival compared to children without DS.
Pineal parenchymal tumors are rare neoplasms for which evidence-based treatment recommendations are lacking. These tumors vary in biology, clinical characteristics, and prognosis, requiring treatment that ranges from surgical resection alone to intensive multimodal antineoplastic therapy.
Our international team highlights issues with efficacy reports in several studies on DMG with the new drug ONC201.
Nick Raelene Gottardo Endersby MBChB FRACP PhD BSc (Hons) PhD Co-Head, Brain Tumour Research team; Head of Oncology and Haematology, Perth Children’s
High-risk childhood leukemia has a poor prognosis because of treatment failure and toxic side effects of therapy. Drug encapsulation into liposomal nanocarriers has shown clinical success at improving biodistribution and tolerability of chemotherapy. However, enhancements in drug efficacy have been limited because of a lack of selectivity of the liposomal formulations for the cancer cells.
DNA methylation array profiling for classifying pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors is a valuable adjunct to histopathology. However, unbiased prospective and interlaboratory validation studies have been lacking. The AIM BRAIN diagnostic trial involving 11 pediatric cancer centers in Australia and New Zealand.