Professor Terry Johns + Telethon Kids Research Update

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The outcomes for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and ependymoma cancer have barely changed in 30 years. The ependymoma cure rate is less than 60% and DIPG is nearly always fatal. New treatments for these tumours are desperately needed.

Now, a Telethon Kids Institute-initiated project provides a genuine opportunity to identify novel therapeutic approaches to improve these outcomes for paediatric brain cancer.

The Ion Channel Drugs for the Treatment of Aggressive Childhood Brain Tumours project, led by Professor Terry Johns, grew out of the Institute’s innovative Blue Sky program – a scheme aimed at encouraging high-risk high-reward research.

The project tests a radical new approach to treating ependymomas and DIPG by using ion channel drugs to reduce the tumour’s adaptability and increase the efficacy of targeted therapies.

The Robert Connor Dawes Foundation is proud to be committing $50,000 for the project, along with the Ethan Davies Fellowship.

Telethon Kids Cancer Centre: Ion Channels from RCD Foundation on Vimeo.