Of the almost 1,500 women in Australia who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, only 43 per cent are likely to be alive five years after their diagnosis. Our research aims to understand why some ovarian cancer patients respond well to chemotherapy while others have tumours that are resistant to treatment.
We now know through genomic testing combined with histopathology that ovarian cancer is not a single disease but many different subtypes of disease, each of which is likely to require a different treatment approach. Through understanding the molecular drivers of treatment response in ovarian cancer, we aim to better target treatment to individual patients.
Our researchers form an integral part of the multidisciplinary teams caring for women with gynaecological cancers at Westmead, meaning our research is well-positioned to be quickly translated into new tests and treatments that are of direct benefit to patients.
We have embarked on a unique and ambitious program to introduce more sophisticated molecular testing into everyday clinical care. Patients will be characterised according to their subtype of ovarian cancer and, if required, this information will be used to help match patients with suitable clinical trials.
Research Directions
- Identification of novel targets for treatment of ovarian cancer
- Molecular characterisation of ovarian cancer subtypes to optimise treatment
- Implementation of molecular testing of ovarian tumours into routine clinical care