Cancer
Our research is improving the process of bone marrow transplantation by both simplifying treatment and curing patients. We are well known for developing and testing cell therapies to fight infections after transplant and are about to commence trials that will use cells engineered to directly target blood cancers.
Our research aims to understand why some ovarian cancer patients respond well to chemotherapy while others have tumours that are resistant to treatment.
We are taking an entirely new approach to combatting acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) by targeting cells in the bone marrow that protect cancer cells from the effects of chemotherapy.
Our research is unique in that we study healthy breast tissue removed from women during a breast reduction, as well as data and cancer tissue supplied by the Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank.
The Westmead Institute is world-renowned for its melanoma studies. Researchers from its Centre for Cancer Research helped discover the first mutated gene that causes a high risk of melanoma in families. More recently they have identified most of the more than 20 gene variations that influence melanoma risk in the community, together with sun exposure.
Our basic and translational research focuses on key molecular and cellular interactions which drive liver cancer. The overall goal of our research is to provide new, targeted therapies which will improve overall survival and quality of life in patients suffering from this deadly disease.
We are working on a world-first approach to combat cancer through exploiting the molecular changes that occur in the liver due to obesity.
INOVATe (Individualised Ovarian Cancer Treatment Through Integration of Genomic Pathology into Multidisciplinary Care) is a research study that has been established to develop strategies to better define ovarian cancer patient subsets, based on tumour genomic profiling in conjunction with conventional histological subtyping, in an effort to optimise the selection of patients for novel molecularly-targeted clinical trials and ultimately to individualise treatment.
Our overarching aims are to identify mechanisms of radiation resistance using a combination of imaging and tumour specimen biomarkers, and overcome radiation resistance using novel radiation/drug combinations and advanced radiation delivery technologies.
Keep up-to-date with the latest news from The Westmead Institute, including research findings, new discoveries and stories of hope.