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Research
A novel transcriptional signature identifies T-cell infiltration in high-risk paediatric cancerMolecular profiling of the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) has enabled the rational choice of immunotherapies in some adult cancers. In contrast, the TIME of paediatric cancers is relatively unexplored. We speculated that a more refined appreciation of the TIME in childhood cancers, rather than a reliance on commonly used biomarkers such as tumour mutation burden (TMB), neoantigen load and PD-L1 expression, is an essential prerequisite for improved immunotherapies in childhood solid cancers.
Research
Systematic In Vitro Evaluation of a Library of Approved and Pharmacologically Active Compounds for the Identification of Novel Candidate Drugs for KMT2A-Rearranged LeukemiaPatients whose leukemias harbor a rearrangement of the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL/KMT2A) gene have a poor prognosis, especially when the disease strikes in infants. The poor clinical outcome linked to this aggressive disease and the detrimental treatment side-effects, particularly in children, warrant the urgent development of more effective and cancer-selective therapeutics.
Research
Cancer therapies inducing DNA damageThe induction of DNA damage has been employed as an anticancer strategy for more than 100years, first starting with the use of radiation to treat stomach cancer followed by the first uses of DNA-damaging chemotherapy to treat childhood leukemia.
News & Events
Childhood cancers not on the rise in SA and NT, but disparity remains for Indigenous children in the NTDespite national and global reports of rising incidences of cancer affecting children and young people, a new analysis has found rates of childhood cancer have remained unchanged over the last 30 years in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
News & Events
Precision medicine offering new hope for kids with aggressive cancersA world-first study involving more than 100 cancer researchers and clinicians across Australia – including from The Kids Research Institute Australia and Perth Children’s Hospital – has shown that precision medicine can significantly improve outcomes for children with high-risk cancer.
News & Events
Telethon supports vital child health research projectsThe generous support of West Australians through Channel 7’s Telethon Trust will help support crucial child health research at The Kids Research Institute Australia in 2022.
Research
Conventional Therapies Deplete Brain-Infiltrating Adaptive Immune Cells in a Mouse Model of Group 3 Medulloblastoma Implicating Myeloid Cells as Favorable Immunotherapy TargetsMedulloblastoma is the most common childhood brain cancer. Mainstay treatments of radiation and chemotherapy have not changed in decades and new treatment approaches are crucial for the improvement of clinical outcomes. To date, immunotherapies for medulloblastoma have been unsuccessful, and studies investigating the immune microenvironment of the disease and the impact of current therapies are limited.
Research
PI3K/mTOR is a therapeutically targetable genetic dependency in diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomaDiffuse midline glioma (DMG), including tumors diagnosed in the brainstem (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma; DIPG), are uniformly fatal brain tumors that lack effective treatment.
Research
In vivo loss of tumorigenicity in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft mouse model of ependymomaEpendymomas (EPN) are the third most common malignant brain cancer in children. Treatment strategies for pediatric EPN have remained unchanged over recent decades, with 10-year survival rates stagnating at just 67% for children aged 0-14 years. Moreover, a proportion of patients who survive treatment often suffer long-term neurological side effects as a result of therapy. It is evident that there is a need for safer, more effective treatments for pediatric EPN patients.
Research
Pediatric pineoblastoma: A pooled outcome study of North American and Australian therapeutic dataPineoblastoma is a rare brain tumor usually diagnosed in children. Given its rarity, no pineoblastoma-specific trials have been conducted. Studies have included pineoblastoma accruing for other embryonal tumors over the past 30 years.