Lead researcher
Jeanne Tie, Niall Tebbutt, Craig Underhill, Sue-Anne McLachlan, Peter Gibbs, Alexander Heriot, Julie Chu, Michael Jefford, Tim Akhurst
Institution
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Tumour type:
Bowel
Years funded
2021-2023
Project description
This research will investigate whether adding local ablative (minimally invasive procedures using highly focused radiation, electrical energy or heat) treatments to the current standard treatment will improve survival in bowel cancer patients who also have a small number of metastatic tumours. We will enrol 75 individuals with up to 10 metastatic tumours who will be allocated on a randomised basis to either a control group that will continue the standard treatment, or an experimental group that will also receive local ablative treatment. The study will recruit patients using a ‘TELE-TRIAL MODEL’ which will make it accessible to patients located anywhere in Victoria.
What is the need?
Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in Australia. For most patients with advanced bowel cancer, standard intravenous anti-cancer therapy can prolong life expectancy but cannot eradicate the cancer. Several alternative ablative treatments are now widely available and preliminary indications are they can lead to long-term disease control.
Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death with more than 1.8 million new diagnoses each year worldwide. As a medical oncologist and clinical researcher, I aim to translate scientific discovery into the clinic rapidly to achieve better outcomes for bowel cancer patients.
What are you trying to achieve?
This research project will demonstrate the value of ablative therapies in addition to standard systemic treatment for patients with advanced bowel cancer, both in terms of extending survival and of minimising chemotherapy exposure. The project will also demonstrate the feasibility of two novel clinical trial methodologies —tele-trials and registry trials — to improve patient access.
How important is this funding?
The grant-in-aid funding is critical to the success of our investigator-led pilot study which is not funded by other funding mechanisms such as the industry or NHMRC.
Project timeline
| Timeline |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
| Develop trial set-up; enrol 10 patients and activate all 12 participating hospitals. |
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| Complete enrolment of 75 patients in total. |
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Follow up enrolled patients.
Review and prepare clinical data for analysis and reporting of study outcome. |
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Award / Duration
3 years