Immunotherapy may hold the key to cancer cure

19 May 2017

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Australia. Tragically, about one in two Australian men and one in three Australian women will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.

Considering these statistics, this could easily be someone you know and love. St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s oncology clinical trials are helping researchers discover revolutionary new treatments to improve outcomes for people with some of the most common cancers such as breast, melanoma, kidney, bladder, prostate, pancreas, colorectal, oesophageal, gastric and lung cancers.

St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s Principal investigator and Associate Professor Kynan Feeney said current studies trialling immunotherapy as a cancer treatment were showing some amazing results, while gene-directed therapies that stop growth pathways within cancer cells were also showing promise.

This work is being undertaken in conjunction with a variety of industry partners, from small biotech companies working on innovative new compounds, through to large pharmaceutical companies such as BMS, Pfizer, Roche, Novartis and MSD.

“Already, immunotherapy treatment is proving to be an effective treatment for some patients with lung and oesophageal cancers,” Associate Professor Feeney said.

“After only six weeks on our compound treatments, which help the body recognise and fight cancer cells, a cancer once diagnosed as terminal is completely undetectable on a scan.

“The next step is to trial these compounds on patients following tumour removal surgery, to try and prevent recurrence or spread in the way that you would usually use chemotherapy after breast or colon cancer.”

The first St John of God Clinical Trial Unit was launched at St John of God Subiaco Hospital in 1999. Joining forces with the Cancer Council WA in 2003, it now operates out of the hospital’s Bendat Family Comprehensive Cancer Centre, which St John of God Foundation contributed $22 million to build.

The second group was established in 2012 at St John of God Murdoch Hospital and together they are now one of the largest oncology clinical trial units in Australia, with almost 40 active trials involving more than 160 patients.

In a clinical trial, people volunteer to test the most up-to-date drugs, treatments, interventions or tests to help prevent, detect, treat or manage a disease or medical condition.

It usually involves the random allocation of participants to a treatment group that may include either the standard of care treatment plus the new treatment, or the standard of care treatment plus a placebo.

Each trial is conducted under stringent scrutiny and monitoring from an independent ethics committee to ensure patient safety and wellbeing, and the research outcomes may help determine if a treatment is effective, safe and how it compares to existing interventions.

Image: The West Australian