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Research

There are few options for patients with relapse/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, thus this is a major area of unmet medical need. Here, we reveal that inclusion of a poison exon in RBM39, which could be induced both by CDK9 or CDK9 independent CMGC (cyclin-dependent kinases, mitogen-activated protein kinases, glycogen synthase kinases, CDC-like kinases) kinase inhibition, is recognized by the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay pathway for degradation.

Research

T cells engineered to express chimeric-antigen receptors (CAR-T cells) can effectively control relapsed and refractory haematological malignancies in the clinic. However, the successes of CAR-T cell therapy have not been recapitulated in solid tumours due to a range of barriers such as immunosuppression, poor infiltration, and tumour heterogeneity.

News & Events

A team of world-leading scientists has secured $5 million in funding from the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society to advance the fight against leukaemia in children with Down syndrome.

News & Events

Researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia and UWA will use a $500,000 CUREator grant to progress the development of the first cancer immunotherapy in a tablet.

Research

Immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of cancers by harnessing the power of the immune system to eradicate malignant tissue. However, it is well recognised that some cancers are highly resistant to these therapies, which is in part attributed to the immunosuppressive landscape of the tumour microenvironment (TME). The contexture of the TME is highly heterogeneous and contains a complex architecture of immune, stromal, vascular and tumour cells in addition to acellular components such as the extracellular matrix. While understanding the dynamics of the TME has been instrumental in predicting durable responses to immunotherapy and developing new treatment strategies, recent evidence challenges the fundamental paradigms of how tumours can effectively subvert immunosurveillance. Here, we discuss the various immunosuppressive features of the TME and how fine-tuning these mechanisms, rather than ablating them completely, may result in a more comprehensive and balanced anti-tumour response.

Research

This study investigates the interaction between caregiver burden, mutuality, and family resilience in colorectal cancer management, and determines whether mutuality affects the effect of caregiver burden on family resilience.

Research

Siblings of children with cancer have been shown to experience disruption in multiple domains including family, school, and friendships. Existing literature on siblings' experiences focuses on older children or on a broad range of ages.

Research

Event-free survival considers other adverse events in addition to mortality. It therefore provides a more complete understanding of the effectiveness and consequences of treatment than standard survival measures, but is rarely reported at the population level for childhood cancer.

Research

Children receiving treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at high risk of invasive fungal disease (IFD). Evidence from pediatric studies support the efficacy of antifungal prophylaxis in reducing the burden of IFD in children receiving therapy for AML, yet existing antifungal agents have specific limitations and comparative data to inform the optimal prophylactic approach are lacking.

Research

Platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with anti-PD-L1 antibodies has shown promising results in mesothelioma. However, the immunological mechanisms underlying its efficacy are not well understood and there are no predictive biomarkers to guide treatment decisions.