Cancer

Our overarching goals are to improve the diagnosis of cancer, understand the factors that contribute to the development of cancer and discover more effective, targeted cancer therapies for patients.

Collaborations between our researchers and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have already led to the development of several drug treatments that have been approved, or are currently being tested, in clinical trials for cancer patients.

Our division has also established an extensive bank of patient-derived cancer samples for preclinical studies that enable us to interrogate how cancer develops, explore how cancer cells respond to existing and new treatments, and understand why drug resistance occurs.

• Understand normal organ/blood development and the evolution of cancer.
• Understand how the tumour microenvironment can impact tumour growth and therapy response.
• Translate fundamental biological research discoveries into future breakthrough cancer therapies.
• Develop improved precision therapies for people with different types of cancer.
• Identify biomarkers of response and resistance.
• Conduct clinical trials.

• Discovery of the colony stimulating factors (CSF), which have treated over 20 million patients worldwide and is now standard in cancer treatment involving chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
• Uncovered a potential dual drug combination that could treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
• Discovered a molecular signature in the blood that can help identify patients with lung cancer who are more likely to respond to immunotherapy.
• Discovered breast stem cells which changed the course of our understanding of the origins of breast cancer.
• Pinpointed the source cells that can grow into breast cancer in women who are high risk.
• Discovered what traits of the p53 protein fuel cancer growth which could lead to new and improved cancer treatments.
• How drug testing on tumours may be able to tell us how people with bowel cancer will respond to specific treatments before they begin.
• New immunotherapy treatment (CAR T) targeting an aggressive type of brain tumour known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioama (DIPG). 

Professor Nick Nicola discusses the first clinical trials of the colony stimulating factors (CSF) that took place in Melbourne under Professor Don Metcalf, and the significant impact of the discovery on cancer treatment.

Professor Andrew Roberts discusses his pursuit of a BCL-2 inhibitor to help in the treatment of blood cancer.

WEHI researchers discuss how we can potentially identify the types of lung cancers most likely to respond to immunotherapy treatments through a molecular signature in the blood.

Professor Jane Visvander discusses why understanding breast cancer heterogeneity will improve diagnostic tools, treatment options, and health outcomes for patients with breast cancer.

Associate Professor Clare Scott AM on how we can personalise treatment for patients with ovarian cancer by identifying which cancers are most likely to respond to which treatments.