No two cancers are the same. Even with the same diagnosis, each child’s cancer can have a unique genetic fingerprint. By studying these differences through advanced testing, researchers and clinicians can design new, personalised treatments that target each child’s cancer more precisely, while sparing healthy cells. By successfully doing this, we can unlock treatments with fewer side effects and improve quality of life.
While this approach has been very successful for certain low grade tumours, fast growing aggressive cancers remain challenging to treat. Our researchers are pushing the boundaries of analysis to find smarter, targeted therapies that only attack cancer cells.
Research focus areas
Novel technology
Our team is developing state-of-the-art technologies to help establish improved genetic and cellular investigations that can be performed to inform diagnosis and guide prognosis and treatment for children with cancer in WA.
Precision genetics
Every cancer is different. By analysing each child’s cancer at the genetic and cellular level, we aim to understand the genetic changes that can drive cancer, and design treatments that target them.
Personalised therapies
Personalised medicine helps us understand what is different in each child’s cancer and then identify treatments tailored specifically for each child. Genetic and cellular analysis is vital to help clinicians personalise treatments for each patient. This includes treatments that target cancer cells and spare healthy cells.
Immunotherapies
Our team is studying how a child’s rapidly developing immune system interacts with cancer cells and exploring how we can harness the body’s own defences to better fight the cancer. We aim to design new immunotherapies that work hand-in-hand with personalised treatments to benefit children with hard-to-treat cancers.
Impact on treatment & diagnosis
Analysing the unique genetic features of a child’s cancer could help clinicians and researchers to:
- Provide a faster and more accurate diagnosis, so treatment can start sooner
- Identify treatments that are more likely to work for the specific cancer type and child
- Avoid unnecessary treatments, thereby minimising side effects
Thanks to national collaborations like AIM-BRAIN and ZERO Childhood Cancer, rapid DNA analysis is already transforming how we diagnose and treat childhood cancers. Clinicians can identify the exact cancer subtype sooner and choose treatments that are more likely to work for each child.
