Boost for Victorian bid to extend lung cancer patients’ lives
As concerns grow about the number of non-smoking Australians being diagnosed with lung cancer, Victorian researchers are set to get more than $202 million for clinical trials to prolong patients’ lives.
VIC News
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World-leading Victorian researchers will share in a whopping $440 million as they get closer to beating the quick death sentence faced by lung cancer patients.
It comes as there are growing concerns about the number of Australians who are diagnosed with lung cancer but have never smoked.
Health Minister Greg Hunt will on Thursday announce Victoria is to receive the lion’s share — more than $202 million — in National Health and Medical Research Council grants for 131 world-leading projects spearheaded in the state.
Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre medical oncologist Ben Solomon’s ground-breaking research will receive $2.6 million for clinical trials to deliver personalised treatment for patients with lung cancer.
Professor Solomon told the Herald Sun that one in five women and one in 10 men who were diagnosed with lung cancer had never smoked.
Lung cancer kills more Australians than any other cancer and its five-year survival rate is just 17 per cent.
Prof Solomon said early trials had shown patients with terminal diagonoses could live longer by moving away from one-size-fits-all treatments and using targeted individualised drugs and immunotherapy to fight tumors, which can be different in every patient.
His research will monitor “dynamic changes” in tumors.
Prof Solomon said one of his lung cancer patients had hoped to see her young children start primary school but, after a number of years of participating in clinical trials, she was now looking forward to seeing them start high school.
Mr Hunt told the Herald Sun lung cancer was “a devastating disease” and it was “critical that we continue to work towards more effective treatments for these individuals”.
“Professor Solomon’s research aims to improve the characterisation of lung cancers and enable the development of optimal therapies tailored to patients,” Mr Hunt said.
“This research is critical as it will improve the outcomes for individuals with this debilitating disease.”
Across the country, the National Health and Medical Research Council will fund 298 research projects to help keep Australians alive and healthier for longer.
The Medical Research Future Fund will also release $3.7 million to advance the use of genomics in medicine.
“This funding will give researchers the flexibility to undertake ground-breaking research that will lead to significant advances in the health of all Australians,’’ Mr Hunt said.