Awareness day brings rare diseases out of the shadows

CCS researchers have teamed up with patient advocates to give

insight into living with the illness and the research challenges

to understand the disease for improved diagnosis and treatment.

See video playlist or see below for links to specific videos.

Today, 28 February, the Central Clinical School’s Community and Research Engagement (CCS CaRE) program is participating in a global Rare Disease Day, to raise awareness of rare diseases and showcase some of the research that goes into rare diseases now being undertaken across the school.

Rare disease funds to boost pancreatic and blood cancer studies: Rare Disease Day feature

Adj A/Prof Charles Pilgrim and Prof Andrew Spencer describe

their newly funded MRFF research and how it will help patients.

Early this month Central Clinical School researchers were awarded funding under the MRFF’s 2021 Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need (RCRDUN) program. 

As part of Rare Disease Day today, we asked two CCS researchers - Charles Pilgrim from the Department of Surgery, and Andrew Spencer from the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases - working with rare diseases about the research being funded.

$19.3 million for rare cancer and rare disease research

L-R: Prof Andrew Spencer (ACBD), A/Prof Trisha Peel (Infectious

Diseases) and Adj.A/Prof Charles Pilgrim (Surgery) in CCS

have won MRFF grants.

Researchers in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences will receive $19,324,213 under the 2021 Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need (RCRDUN) grant opportunity.

Congratulations to the three researchers from Central Clinical School who received MRFF funding. See detail below.

Event: SOHO Italy extracellular vesicles and their role in patients with multiple myeloma

Italian Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO Italy) is offering an event 1 July (SOHO Italy extracellular vesicles and their role in patients with multiple myeloma). Prof Andrew Spencer & Dr Antonia Reale from CCS will be presenting.

• Registration: https://www.sohoitaly.it/soho-italy-extracellular-vesicles/
• See flier: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j0-Obb_tL9Xe-w2--VEE7g6OCPUPgKFL/view?usp=sharing
• Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aX9HH1zLa0&authuser=1.

Monash researchers a step closer to myeloma blood test

by Anne Crawford

Prof. Andrew Spencer

A Monash University team has advanced its research into developing a novel blood test to detect multiple myeloma. The liquid biopsy test also has the potential in the future to give clinicians an indication of how a patient is responding to treatment.

The ACBD (Australian Centre for Blood Diseases) group, led by Professor Andrew Spencer, published its study recently in Leukemia.  

Multiple myeloma (MM), an incurable cancer of the plasma cells which are normally found in the bone marrow, affects more than 1900 Australians each year.

Professor Andrew Spencer on combating Multiple Myeloma

Prof Andrew Spencer explains the research in this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=spfbhnn1Nhc

Professor Andrew Spencer, of the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, recently received funding under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) of  $1.68M for a trial in elderly Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients to investigate treatment options. The full title of his study is "Frailty-stratified randomised controlled bayesian adaptive trial of bortezomib versus lenalidomide in transplant-ineligible myeloma - the FRAIL-M study". In this video he explains the significance of the research.

Congratulations to MRFF grant winners Andrew Spencer and Andrew Perkins!

Prof Andrew Spencer

Prof Andrew Perkins

Congratulations to Professors Andrew Perkins and Andrew Spencer, both of the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, for their new funding under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

Professor Andrew Perkins' grant of $1.73M is for improving survival in myelofibrosis (MF) using genetic profiling. MF is a rare incurable blood cancer. It can develop from a pre-existing myeloproliferative disorder. Patients with high risk MF have a median survival of less than 3 years and some less than 5 years.

Photo of the week: ACRF Blood Cancer Therapeutics launch

The Australian Centre for Blood Diseases hosted a launch of the new Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Blood Cancer Therapeutics Centre on 24 July 2018. The visitors from ACRF and the community had a tour of the new laboratory and centre, then listened to talks from the senior researchers and a patient who has already benefited from the research into improved treatments. Seen here, left to right, are Mr Russell Caplan (Director, ACRF), Kerry Strydom (Chief Operating Officer, ACRF), Mr Greg Camm (Director, ACRF), Victoria Bonsey (Philanthropy & Engagement Manager, ACRF), Professor Ian Brown (CEO, ACRF), Mr Gordon Wheaton (Wheaton Foundation donor), Professor Andrew Spencer (Group leader, ACBD and Head of the Malignant Haematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Service, The Alfred), Associate Professor Andrew Wei (Group Leader, ACBD and Head of leukaemia research, The Alfred). See more about the launch and the centre in this issue's story.

Australia’s first dedicated Blood Cancer Therapeutics Centre launched

The ACRF Blood Cancer Therapeutics Centre launch ceremony
held at the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct. 
L-R: Russell Caplan (ACRF), A/Prof Andrew Wei, Prof Andrew
Spencer and Greg Camm (ACRF)

The Alfred and Monash University have established a dedicated centre for Blood Cancer Therapeutics Research, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF). The grant was awarded to a team of haematologists led by Associate Professor Andrew Wei, and Professors Andrew Spencer, David Curtis and Stephen Jane, and the centre was officially launched on Tuesday 24 July 2018.  

Blood based tests vs tumour biopsies for cancer diagnosis

MM is an incurable blood cancer
characterised by multifocal tumour
deposits throughout the bone marrow.
Patient image provided by Prof Andrew
Spencer

Professor Andrew Spencer's research on the use of liquid biopsies for cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment was picked up and profiled by ASH Clinical News, in an article titled 'Demystifying Liquid Biopsies', 1 May 2018.

See the CCS blog feature on the research for more detail, "New blood test potential game-changer for myeloma patients" (2 June 2017)

“We’re still in the developmental phase but the concept has been proven,” Professor Spencer said. “We’ve demonstrated that you can detect more mutations and track what’s happening to them, you can measure them and follow them sequentially – which would be impossible in bone marrow biopsies,” he said.

Reference
Mithraprabhu S, Khong T, Ramachandran M et al. Circulating tumour DNA analysis demonstrates spatial mutational heterogeneity that coincides with disease relapse in myeloma. Leukemia. 2017;31:1695-705.

New blood test potential game-changer for myeloma patients

MM is an incurable blood cancer

characterised by multifocal tumour

deposits throughout the bone marrow.
Patient image provided by Prof Andrew
Spencer

by Anne Crawford

Painful and invasive bone marrow biopsies performed on Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients to diagnose and analyse their cancer may become a thing of the past, replaced by a new liquid biopsy technique being developed by Alfred Health-Monash University researchers.

The technique, being pioneered by the Myeloma Research Group (MRG) at Monash’s Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD), at the Alfred Hospital, tests plasma for DNA and RNA circulating in the bloodstream to detect and analyse MM mutations.

CCS Publications update: 13-19 May 2017

Professor Andrew Spencer is
last author on two papers this
week on multiple myeloma

Recent publications for Central Clinical School affiliated authors in the departments of Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD), Anaesthesia, Diabetes, Gastroenterology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC), Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre (MAPrc) and Surgery.  

Recent CCS publications: Week ending 27 May 2016

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Recent publications for CCS affiliated authors:

Kazemi R, Rostami R, Khomami S, Horacek J, Brunovsky M, Novak T, Fitzgerald PB.
Electrophysiological correlates of bilateral and unilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with bipolar depression. Psychiatry Res. 2016 Apr; 240:364-375.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.04.061.

Levin N, Spencer A, Harrison SJ, Chauhan D, Burrows FJ, Anderson KC, Reich SD, Richardson PG, Trikha M. Marizomib irreversibly inhibits proteasome to overcome compensatory hyperactivation in multiple myeloma and solid tumour patients. Br J Haematol. 2016 May (online).
doi: 10.1111/bjh.14113.

Tan WS, Chow EP, Fairley CK, Chen MY, Bradshaw CS, Read TR. Sensitivity of HIV rapid tests compared to fourth generation enzyme immunoassays or HIV RNA tests - a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS. 2016 Apr (online).
doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001134

VCA project grant awarded to Monash blood researchers

Image: www.thrombocyte.com/causes-of-multiple-myeloma-cancer/

VCA project grants have been announced and a consortium of Victorian based blood researchers have received funding for a collaborative project, "Augmented immune targeting of a myeloma-specific tumour antigen".

The investigators are Associate Professor Jake Shortt (Lead Applicant, SCS Monash Health), Prof Andrew Spencer (ACBD, CCS/Alfred), A/Prof John Reynolds, Prof Ricky Johnstone, Dr Hang Quach, Dr George Grigoriadis, Dr Anna Kalff, Dr Tiffany Khong, Dr Patricia Walker, and A/Prof David Powell.

The group will receive funding of $1,974,342 over 36 months for their research into immune system treatment of myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow plasma cell.

Recent advances have been made using treatments that stimulate the immune system to remove these cancerous plasma cells. The consortium has developed a treatment called MDX1097 that recognizes and binds only to cancerous plasma cells. Cells coated with MDX1097 then become visible to the immune system. Thalidomide is very useful in myeloma as it kills cancerous plasma cells while also stimulating the immune system. They will combine a thalidomide derivative with MDX1097 in a clinical trial for Victorian myeloma patients.

Link: victoriancanceragency.org.au/index.php/funding-outcomes/2015-funded-projects

Congratulations to Alfred researchers on MIME funding

The Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) has announced its 2015 Seed Funding Awardees, to which over $700,000 has been disbursed in research project support. The projects will be undertaken in collaboration with researchers in the Faculties of Engineering and IT.

The Central Clinical School recipients were:

Professor Mark Fitzgerald (National Trauma Research Institute)   

• Chest trauma: Develop semi-automated device for emergency drainage of blood in the chest cavity (pleural decompression device)    
• Trauma resuscitation: Develop wireless heads-up display for real-time decision support in trauma situations   

Professor Anton Peleg (Department of Infectious Diseases)

• Hospital-acquired infections: Develop surface coatings for medical devices that resist the attachment of organisms and establishment of biofilms, particularly antibiotic resistance biofilms

Adjunct Professor Bruce Thompson (Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine )

• Asthma treatment: Development and testing of a nebulizer with “dial up” particle size control that can target small airways, improving the treatment of asthma   

Professor Andrew Spencer (Australian Centre for Blood Diseases)

• Multiple myeloma diagnostic tool: Develop a diagnostic test for detecting circulating tumour DNA for use in primary healthcare

 

 

MIME PhD Scholarship support

MIME also funds PhD scholarships so students can be recruited to work with researchers. Successful researchers from CCS were: 

Dr Heather Cleland, Mr Stephen Goldie (Department of Surgery)

• Burn injuries: Develop a tissue engineered skin substitute, which will enable rapid and permanent wound closure, as well as functional and aesthetic reconstruction   

Dr Stephen Ting (Australian Centre for Blood Diseases)

• Leukemia stem cell detection: Single cell identification, separation, isolation and assay of bone marrow and leukemia stem cells     

 


Professor Mark Fitzgerald (National Trauma Research Institute)   

• Trauma resuscitation – develop wireless heads-up display for real-time decision support   

Professor David Kaye (Department of Medicine, Baker IDI)

• Heart attack: Develop 3D-printed muscle patch for heart repair

Publications

Chang-Yew Leow C, Gerondakis S, Spencer A.  MEK inhibitors as a chemotherapeutic intervention in multiple myeloma.  Blood Cancer J. 2013 Mar 22;3:e105.

Kalff A, Spencer A.  The t(4;14) translocation and FGFR3 overexpression in multiple myeloma: prognostic

Multiple Myeloma blood cancer registry

A multiple myeloma blood cancer registry, the first of its kind in Australia and New Zealand, is being piloted through the Alfred in conjunction with Monash University. Professor Andrew Spencer, Head of the ACBD Myeloma research group investigating malignant haematology and and stem cell transplantation, said that the registry was developed after a realisation that there were no correct data on myeloma in Australia,