An exceptional $8 million, 10-year philanthropic investment will spearhead new treatments for pancreatic cancer and create a new dedicated research centre at WEHI.
The centre, to be established thanks to an investment by Australian business leader and WEHI President Jane Hemstritch AO, aims to help close the significant survival gap between pancreatic cancer and other cancers.
The Hemstritch Centre of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer Research will provide a leading team of scientists and clinicians with long-term funding to ask big research questions. They aim to make major progress in treating what is expected to be Australia’s second biggest cancer killer by 2030.
At a glance:
An $8 million philanthropic investment by business leader and WEHI President Jane Hemstritch will establish the Hemstritch Centre of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer Research at WEHI.
Just 11.5% of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive five years beyond their diagnosis, and it is expected to be Australia’s second most lethal cancer by 2030.
The long-term funding will support a game-changing and patient-centred translational research platform. This will support the development of novel approaches, including new drugs which are urgently needed for a disease with few current treatment options.
A devastating disease
Pancreatic cancer is a major cancer killer in Australia, with 3600 people dying from this disease each year.
Due to a lack of specific symptoms in the early stages, most patients are diagnosed with advanced stage cancer affecting nearby organs. More than half of people with pancreatic cancer die within the first six months of diagnosis and just 11.5% will survive five years.
Sustained research investment has significantly improved survival outcomes for other cancers, including skin, breast, prostate and many blood cancers, but the progress in pancreatic cancer has been slow.
It is hoped the $8 million, 10-year philanthropic investment will be a much-needed boost that accelerates WEHI-led research into pancreatic cancer, and helps close the survival gap with other cancers.
WEHI director Professor Ken Smith said research investment was critical, given the growing number of people being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the poor survival rates.
“This investment is cause for hope for people with this most devastating of diseases, and I commend Jane for her vision, passion and generosity,” said Prof Smith.
“Our team of scientists have the knowledge and drive to create real change in an area where it is so desperately needed, and the assurance of this long-term funding gives them the ability to chase the next pancreatic cancer breakthrough.”
Game-changing treatments
The funding will allow researchers to make significant headway with an ambitious 10-year program of research planned.
Associate Professor Tracy Putoczki, a laboratory head in WEHI’s Personalised Oncology division, is collecting patient tumour samples that will be used to help personalise treatment by determining which therapies are most likely to work for each patient.
Her research team is using a range of patient samples, including organoids: miniature tumours that are grown in the lab from patient biopsies, allowing researchers to test hundreds of drugs on each cancer, which was not previously possible.
“Time and money have allowed scientists to make exceptional gains in treating other cancers, like melanoma, which until recently was as devastating as pancreatic cancer, until the game-changing discovery of immune therapies,” said Assoc Prof Putoczki.
The funding will help her team develop an integrated, patient-focused, translational research platform to establish better treatment strategies and support the development of a pipeline of new drugs.
“This innovative platform is a game-changer. By integrating clinical and laboratory research onto the same platform, it enables more coordinated scientific research, to find the right interventions for each patient, when they need it,” said Assoc Prof Putoczki.