Our Forgotten Cancers Program
At Cancer Council Victoria, we are committed to improving survival for less common and low survival cancers. Our Forgotten Cancers Program is working to achieve this through epidemiological and laboratory- based research, and advocating for increased funding.
Our Forgotten Cancers Program
- Bladder
- Bone
- Brain
- GallBladder
- Small Intestine
- Kidney
- Leukaemia
- Liver
- Lymphoma
- Multiple Myeloma
- Oesophagus
- Pancreas
- Stomach
- Thyroid
- Uterus
The Forgotten Cancers Project
We have recruited more than 4,000 Australians who have had a less common cancer to provide information about their lifestyle, environment and family history, along with a saliva (DNA) sample, to help us find out more about the causes of these types of cancers.
We are now consolidating the data we have collected to make it available to Australian and international research projects to increase our understanding of these cancers, and improve the way we prevent and treat them.
Data are currently being used in an international pancreatic cancer consortium (PanC4) led by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the USA, investigating the influence of diet and its interaction with genetic factors on the development of pancreatic cancer.
We also sent data to the National Cancer Institute in the USA for a study into the genetic risk factors for lymphoid malignancies such as Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma.
Five-Year Cancer Survival Rates
90% breast cancer
< 30% low survival cancers
Low Survival Cancers Alliance
While the five-year survival for cancers such as breast has improved to 90% thanks to long-standing investment in research, we are extremely concerned about the lack of research progress for low survival cancers. These cancers include mesothelioma, pancreas, liver, lung, oesophagus, gallbaldder, brain, adult acute myeloid leukaemia, stomach, and cancer of unknown primary. Victorians diagnosed today with a low survival cancer have a less than 30% chance of being alive in five years. For some, five-year survival is as low as 7%.
Cancer Council Victoria has joined with 10 other organisations to form the Low Survival Cancers Alliance. This Alliance is advocating for funding over the next ten years to help build the capacity of Victorian research into low survival cancers, grow the critical mass of researchers, and drive improvements in survival.
Our Full Research Program
Research we fund
Each year we fund research projects taking place in Victorian hospitals and universities that are working on developing new treatment options for less common and low survival cancers. We are currently funding two projects looking at improving treatments for acute myeloid leukaemia. Find out more here and here.
We have recently funded the Melbourne Mesothelioma Research Collaborative, and are currently funding a project into the causes of the disease, and another hoping to develop targeted therapy for malignant mesothelioma.
Research we do
As well as the Forgotten Cancers Project, researchers in our Cancer Epidemiology and Intelligence Division are working on additional projects to discover more about the causes of less common cancers. These projects include the EMMA Study, focused on multiple myeloma, the LEAF Study of follicular lymphoma and the CONFIRM Study investigating the causes of kidney cancer.
Find out more
Contact Anthony North, Head of Philanthropic Partnerships, to discuss how you can support our work.
Email Anthony.North@cancervic.org.au or call +61 3 9514 6513.
© Cancer Council Victoria
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