Bringing world-leading
BRAIN TUMOUR RESEARCH
TO YOUNG AUSTRALIANS
$2,000,000
committed over 4 years
The AIM BRAIN project helps doctors better understand individual types of tumours. With better understanding, treatments can be better tailored to the individual brain tumour battlers to increase their odds of beating the cancer and in some cases, not risk being over treated.
The project provides access to world-leading research technology, led by Dr Stefan Pfister at the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), and will help doctors better understand and classify individual brain tumours. With a clearer understanding of each tumour, specialists can create better, personalised treatments not just based on tumour type, but on its actual molecular build. The new approach will not only help them target treatments more appropriately, but also reduce the likelihood of debilitating side effects, as the more intensive treatments can be reserved for the most aggressive tumours.
Personalised diagnosis and medicine is at the very forefront of cancer treatment globally. This Australian-first RCD initiative will ensure access to an advanced molecular diagnostic platform for all children in Australia and New Zealand, and is an exciting collaboration with the DKFZ MNP2.0 study, ANZCHOG, the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology/Oncology Group, and our experts in paediatric brain tumours.
AIM BRAIN is co-funded by
Other Funding Partners
If you’re interested in joining our valued AIM BRAIN Project funding partners please contact Executive Director Liz Dawes
“Already over 40 brain tumours from children have been analysed, providing confirmation of diagnosis or augmenting the diagnosis. Major highlights since commencement are that in several cases the AIM BRAIN Project has assisted doctors in making a diagnosis when conventional diagnostics were unable to reach a diagnosis”
– Doctor Nick Gottardo, Clinical Associate Professor, AIM BRAIN Project Study Chair and Head of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology and Haematology at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.
What is a molecular subtyping service?
Good question (we would be surprised if you knew the answer already).
There are around 120 different types of brain tumours and each one responds differently to various types of treatment. Recently, there have been significant breakthroughs in the methods used to identify specific tumours. One such method is methylation profiling of the tumour DNA. Essentially, this will give doctors more specific information about the type of tumour someone has, and they will be able to develop ways to tailor the treatment for the best possible outcomes.
How does it work?
Using state of the art technology, this research will examine the chemical tag, methylation, on the DNA of thousands of genes in brain tumour samples. Methylation tags are present in different patterns that are unique to different types of brain tumours. Hence these unique methylation patterns can be utilised to refine the diagnosis of a tumour thus ensuring that the most effective treatments are given.
Pictured: Clustering of brain tumours on a methylation “heat map”. Image from Columbia University Medical Centre
STUDY CHAIR
Associate Professor Nick Gottardo
Head, Paediatric Oncology
Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, WA
VICE-CHAIRS
Dr. Jordan R. Hansford
Paediatric Oncologist/ Neuro-Oncologist, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Associate Professor Elizabeth Algar
Research Head, Genetics and Molecular Pathology Monash Health / Hudson Institute
STUDY COMMITTEE
Dr. Peter Downie
Head, Peadiatric Oncologist Monash Medical Centre, VIC
Professor Richard Saffery
Leader, Cell Biology, Cancer & Disease Epigenetics Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, VIC
Dr. Jason Cain
Head, Developmental and Cancer Biology Hudson Institute of Medical Research, VIC
Dr. Dong Anh Khuong Quang
Post-doctoral fellow, Royal Children’s Hospital, VIC
Dr. David Ziegler
Group Leader, Targeted Therapies Children’s Cancer Institute, NSW
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PANEL
Professor Richard Gilbertson
Director of Cambridge Cancer Centre
Cambridge University, United Kingdom
Dr. Michael Taylor
Neurosurgeon and Principle Investigator
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
Dr.Amar Gajjar
Co-Chair Department of Oncology
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee USA
“The support that Monash Children’s Cancer Centre has received from the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation and its supporters enables new projects to be started, in particular a laboratory research scheme looking at the molecular profiling of different tumour types, which will be expanded to involve other centres around Australia. ”
– Peter Downie
Co-funded with the Australian Government
On May 9th, the Australian Government announced it’s budget for the following year. In it was a landmark commitment to funding brain cancer research, included the AIM BRAIN Project through our partner ANZCHOG.