Cancer Archives | Centenary Institute

New treatment offers hope for advanced liver cancer

Tony Crawshaw — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 22:53:55 +0000

The Centenary Institute led study revealed an encouraging treatment strategy involving the use of a new drug called Blockmir CD5-2, combined with a drug called programmed cell death protein 1 antibody (anti-PD1 antibody). This combination proved effective in reducing liver tumour size in mice.

Lead author of the study, Dr Ken Liu, a researcher in the Centenary Institute’s Centre for Cancer Innovations said the discovery was exciting and had the potential to be a viable treatment for advanced liver cancer.

“The synergistic effect of the drugs Blockmir CD5-2 and anti-PD1 antibody significantly reduced the size of liver tumours in mice in our study. We believe that this dual-drug approach enhances the immune system, rendering it more efficient in combatting cancer cells and reducing tumours,” said Dr Liu.

Dr Liu explained that liver tumours often have abnormal blood vessels and low oxygen levels, creating an environment that suppresses the immune system and the body’s ability to fight cancer.

“Blockmir CD5-2 addresses this issue by promoting the health of tumour blood vessels through the activation of a protein called VE-Cadherin. This results in improved blood supply and oxygen levels within the tumours,” said Dr Liu.

“The enhanced blood vessel conditions within the tumours means that more cancer-targeting immune cells, specifically cytotoxic T cells, can infiltrate the tumour and effectively combat the disease,” he said.

The researchers said that use of the anti-PD1 antibody was also a crucial component of the innovative treatment approach, helping the immune system fight cancer more effectively by blocking a protein that hinders the immune response.

Senior study authors, Professor Jennifer Gamble from the Centenary Institute’s Centre for Healthy Ageing and Professor Geoff McCaughan from the Centenary Institute’s Centre for Cancer Innovations said that current effective treatment options for liver cancer were limited and that the new therapeutic approach held tremendous potential for effectively treating such a challenging disease.

The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Publication:

Novel miRNA-based drug CD5-2 reduces liver tumour growth in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-treated mice by normalising tumour vasculature and altering immune infiltrate.

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Dr Tiffen provides insight at leadership event

Tony Crawshaw — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 03:42:15 +0000

The event brought together accomplished women from various backgrounds who shared their unique viewpoints on navigating success in ever-changing and challenging environments through effective leadership.

Panellists, in addition to Dr Tiffen, included senior members of the Afghanistan women’s football team, as well as leading legal practitioners from both Australia and the United States of America.

Reflecting on her participation, Dr Tiffen, said she was extremely happy to have had the opportunity to share her personal and professional insights at the event.

“Women in leadership positions in medical research serve as crucial role models for the upcoming generation of aspiring female scientists,” said Dr Tiffen.

“Their presence not only breaks down barriers but illuminates the path to success. It’s important to realise that you can’t be what you can’t see.”

Dr Tiffen emphasised that the most effective leadership strategy she had found was in fostering genuine engagement within her team as to the crucial work being undertaken each and every day.

“Helping the team to see how extraordinary and important their work is key,” said Dr Tiffen.

“What could be more exciting than discovering new knowledge! We constantly discuss new findings or something that might have featured in the media and think about how it might be applied to our projects. You see that motivation light up across the team and the rest just takes care of itself.”

Dr Tiffen said that the diverse panel of speakers at the Jones Day event dealt with vastly different challenges but ultimately there was a common theme of empowering women in leadership everywhere, whether that was in football, law, or science.

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Student Open Day

Jemma Cummings — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 23:08:28 +0000

You will have the opportunity to hear from current students and post-docs at Centenary as well as take part in a tour of our laboratories.

Come along and meet with project leads to discuss student placements at the Centenary Institute.

Stay tuned for further information.

Event program (subject to change)

Opening Address – Executive Director, Professor Marc Pellegrini

Presentations by Professional Services at Centenary
– Chief Operating Officer
– Manager, Research Office
– Head of People Operations

Presentations by current students at Centenary

Presentation by post-docs at Centenary

Tour of Centenary Institute laboratories and Charles Perkins Centre

Meet and greet with Project leads, students and post-docs Food and beverages

Watch our introductory video to learn more about the Centenary Institute

If you would like to share details of our Student Open Day with friends or family who may like insights and inspiration for their own career journey please download the event poster here.

Things to know when visiting the Institute.

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‘When Art Meets Science’ Exhibition

Jemma Cummings — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 06:30:19 +0000

The Centenary Institute will host an Exhibition at Parliament House Sydney showcasing images taken by our scientists as part of their research endeavours that have both scientific significance and are visual masterpieces!

The Scientific Image Prize is an annual internal competition designed to recognise the incredible research of Centenary’s scientists, as well as their artistic abilities.

We invite our supporters, collaborators and the wider community to come and view the Exhibition which will be open to the public from 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday during the month of August.

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Cancer Progression Laboratory

Jemma Cummings — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 05:38:08 +0000

Mutations in important genes drives cancer. However, within a tumour, different cells can have different mutations. This genetic variation in tumours is associated with poor clinical outcomes in cancer patients, for reasons that are not clearly understood and that currently can’t be resolved.

Cells with differing mutations can interact with each other to behave more malignantly than they do on their own. They do this by producing substances that benefit each other – that promote growth, the ability to spread to other parts of the body, evade the immune system and resist treatment.

This raises the exciting possibility of a new class of therapies based on drugs that block these malignant symbiotic interactions between cancer cells. However, before such therapies can be developed, we need to understand the genes and mechanisms involved in the interactions.

Squamous cell carcinomas are cancers that arise in the outermost layer of cells in tissues that protect us from the environment, including the skin, mouth and eyes. Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are cancers that arise in the mouth and throat and account for about 4,000 deaths in Australia each year, and 5% of cancer deaths worldwide. Treatment of advanced HNSCC usually involves surgery and radiotherapy, which do not always work, and can leave survivors disabled and disfigured. Clearly, new approaches to treating HNSCCs are needed.

Our goal is to identify the genes and cell-to-cell communication pathways that enable malignant interactions between cells in HNSCCs. This will enable ourselves and others to design and identify new drugs that block the malignant interactions and which can then be further tested in experimental models.

We sort cells from human HNSCC tumours to identify genetically distinct populations of cells that can cooperate to grow, break down tissues and provide resistance to chemotherapies. We also have mouse models that enable us to follow the progression of tumours in real time, as they transform from normal tissue to cancer, and to identify the genetically distinct populations visually. Similar models are used to examine cancers in the skin and cornea.

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Associate Professor Guy Lyons

Jemma Cummings — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 04:37:00 +0000

Guy Lyons obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney and then undertook postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, and Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France. He returned to Australia to join the Kanematsu Laboratories, discovering the requirement of two types of cells for breast cancer to make enzymes that enable them to break down surrounding tissues.

He undertook a Senior Research Fellowship at NIH in 2004-5, where he began studying head and neck cancer in the laboratories of Dr Silvio Gutkind, discovering that an epithelial-mesenchymal transition caused head and neck cancer cells to create a pro-inflammatory microenvironment.

Joining the Centenary Institute in 2015 and he continued his research on cancer and other diseases of stratified squamous epithelia of the oral cavity, skin and cornea.

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New study uncovers potential therapeutic target for breast cancer

Tony Crawshaw — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 23:35:50 +0000

The study, involving mice, focused on the role of a protein known as VIRMA in breast tumour growth. Researchers found that abnormally high levels of VIRMA plays a key role in promoting the development of breast cancer cells and is closely associated with poor survival outcomes.

Specifically, the study revealed that a distinct variant of VIRMA, localised within the cell nucleus, is amplified and overexpressed in 15–20% of breast cancers. VIRMA was shown to drive the growth of breast cancer cells by influencing a chemical modification of RNA molecules.

Additionally, the research identified a specific RNA molecule called NEAT1, which interacts with VIRMA and that also promotes the growth of cancer cells.

Dr Justin Wong, Head of the Epigenetics and RNA Biology Program at the Centenary Institute, as well as senior author of the study, expressed his enthusiasm about the research’s most exciting observation. He noted that breast cancer cells with elevated levels of VIRMA exhibited heightened susceptibility to death under prolonged stressful conditions. This newfound vulnerability could pave the way for a novel therapeutic strategy to treat breast cancer.

“Based on our findings, we can repurpose certain therapeutic drugs that trigger stress response to target and eliminate breast cancer cells that have high levels of VIRMA. By targeting VIRMA-overexpressing cancer cells, the aim is to enhance stress response in cancer cells and ultimately force them to commit suicide,” said Dr Wong.

Dr Wong added, “Breast cancer remains a pressing public health concern and this research breakthrough provides renewed hope for the development of targeted and impactful treatments.”

The findings of the study were published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Science.

Publication: Overexpression of VIRMA confers vulnerability to breast cancers via the m6A-dependent regulation of unfolded protein response.

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What are stem cells?

Jemma Cummings — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 00:32:47 +0000

Stem cells are the body’s raw materials, they have the ability to divide indefinitely and are able to develop into many different specialised cells. This natural ability to generate new cell types is unique to the stem cell. They create cells that range from muscle cells to brain cells and they can, in some cases, fix damaged tissues.

How are stem cells used in research?

Areas of stem cell research include:

basic research to understand cell biology
biomedical research to understand the development of disease
clinical treatments for replacing or regenerating disease tissues
testing new drugs on stem cell-based tissues

Stem cell research is important because it has the potential to both better understand and furthermore, cure diseases and injuries that currently have no effective treatments. Stem cells can develop into any type of cell in the body, making them valuable for repairing damaged tissues and organs.

What are the different types of stem cells?

The different types, include:

adult stem cells
embryonic stem cells (from embryos)
‘induced pluripotent’ stem cells (made in a laboratory)
perinatal stem cells (from amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood)

The field of stem cell research has advanced significantly with the use of adult or pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The adult cells are found in small numbers in most tissues, such as bone marrow or fat. An induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC), is an adult stem cell which has been altered in a lab to behave more like embryonic stem cells. This makes them beneficial for researchers wanting to learn about various human cells and diseases in the laboratory.

In our image, induced pluripotent stem cells can be seen, derived from patients, that replicate unique heart cell behaviours in relation to genetic heart disease. They help us better understand a range of conditions and let us develop new therapeutic approaches that can both save and improve lives.

How are they used to treat people?

Although use of stem cell treatments in medicine is still in its early stages, they are currently being used to treat people with blood and immune system conditions, such as leukaemia and lymphoma. These treatments use stem cells from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow or haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

In addition to these already established stem cell therapies, there is ongoing research and development of new stem cell therapies, which are currently being investigated in clinical trials involving people. The research community is also actively engaged in expanding our understanding of stem cells and their potential applications in overcoming various diseases.

Learn more about how this research is being applied to diseases.

Genetic Heart Disease

Graft versus Host Disease

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Metastatic cancer research boosted

Tony Crawshaw — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 01:38:09 +0000

The Fellowship, worth $900,000 over 3 years, will support the two researchers to work together to explore exciting new approaches to the management and outcomes for patients with colorectal and appendiceal cancers that have spread (metastasised) to the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), known as peritoneal metastases.

Patients with peritoneal metastases have poor outcomes and it is unclear how best to manage these patients.

“Treatment options are limited – the only potential curative approach involves difficult and intricate surgery of the affected tissue followed by chemotherapy. Even then, cancer recurrence following this treatment is common,” said Dr Mahon.

Drs Yeo and Mahon will collaborate to detect and isolate tumour cells that have broken away from the tumour and circulate in the blood.

“This could be used as the basis of a simple blood test, to more effectively determine a patient’s cancer status. This could provide clinicians with the necessary information to make patient-specific decisions and improve clinical outcomes for patients,” Dr Yeo said.

Professor John Rasko AO, Head of the Centenary Institute’s Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program said, “It’s thrilling to see these two early career researchers pursuing exciting therapeutic possibilities to address unmet needs in cancer patients.”

The full announcement from Sydney Cancer Partners can be found online.

Dr Yeo is a senior researcher in the Centenary Institute’s Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program and is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Li Ka Shing Cell & Gene Therapy Initiative, University of Sydney. Dr Mahon is the Director of Medical Oncology at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney.

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IGEP Presents: International Women’s Day

Jemma Cummings — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:28:20 +0000

Join us on Wednesday, 8th Mar to celebrate in style the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD).

Talk: Throwing Rocks at the Glass Ceiling

Professor Ingrid Scheffer

12pm – 1pm

Prof Ingrid Scheffer is a neurobiologist and molecular geneticist at the University of Melbourne and Florey Institute. She’s the winner of the Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Science (2018). Prof Scheffer will share her research career journey to leadership – can’t wait to hear her exciting story.

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