Australians will soon have access to new international cancer clinical trials after Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) secured a partnership with world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (MSK), with four major trials to commence in the coming months.
Today’s announcement follows a $20 million donation to the NORTH Foundation from Greg Poche AO and the late Kay Van Norton Poche AO, who dedicated her life to accelerating a cure for cancer, with a premier national cancer clinical trial site to be launched in front of hundreds of local, national and international doctors, nurses and researchers.
NSLHD Chair of Research Professor Bruce Robinson AC said over the past six months, the best and brightest minds in oncology, cancer research and science have been working together to bring Kay and Greg’s vision to life.
“As part of this vision, we will see a fast tracking of life saving clinical trials from MSK directly to patients across Australia,” Prof. Robinson said.
“The centre, named NORTH Sydney Trials and Research Van Norton Poche – NORTH STAR VNP – will also be used to attract the next generation of doctors, scientists and researchers to Australia through global fellowships and provide greater funding to discover cures to the deadliest of cancer through research and development.”
“We’re looking to improve collaboration between hospitals, doctors and allied health professionals so every patient can participate in clinical trials, no matter where they live.”
“This includes extending our reach to rural and remote communities, as well as providing these vital treatments to First Nations people,” Prof. Robinson said.
NORTH STAR will be located across the Sydney North Health Precinct which includes Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) and North Shore Private Hospital and will be available to all Australians with regional New South Wales hospital partnerships already established.
Four projects have been secured between New York and Sydney with one already underway. NORTH STAR clinicians will be moving quickly to expand enrolment of patients from Sydney to other parts of New South Wales, including Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Armidale, Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo and Gosford. These include:
- Precision de-escalation of radiotherapy for patients with throat cancer guided by functional PET imaging as a non-invasive biomarker of hypoxia.
- Improving breast cancer treatment for women who have residual disease, as determined by circulating tumour DNA, using a specialised blood test. This liquid biopsy technology-guided clinical trial is based on collaborative research between MSK and RNSH, which has resulted in multiple publications, including in leading journal Nature Medicine.
- Gastric cancer project where a digital platform will be established for information transfer that will allow the development of a comprehensive database containing clinical, pathological and molecular data. Through this international database, the discovery of biomarkers and precision therapies will aid in improving treatment options and outcomes for patients, as well as identification of individual patients appropriate for clinical trials for this aggressive cancer.
- Artificial intelligence to collect and utilise data that will help expedite cures for cancer and improve overall health outcomes for clinical trials by linking clinical records with existing databases such as MBS and PBS utilisation as well as patient recorded outcomes.
NSLHD Chief Executive Adjunct Professor Anthony M. Schembri AM said Northern Sydney Local Health District has some of the best cancer survival rates in Australia and has been at the forefront of research for more than a century, dedicated to diagnosing, preventing, and treating diseases to enhance community care.
“NORTH STAR will increase survival rates for Australians living with cancer and accelerate the work already underway at NSLHD alongside other premier institutes,” Adj. Prof. Schembri said.
“We are honoured to add NORTH STAR to our world and will forever be indebted to the foresight, generosity, and kindness of both Greg and Kay for being that shining light for so many.”
CEO of the NORTH Foundation, Gilbert Lorquet said Kay and Greg’s passion for philanthropy and their deep empathy for people have set a standard of giving that will hopefully inspire many more for years to come.
“In Kay’s own words to her treating oncologist and NORTH STAR Medical Director, Professor Stephen Clarke OAM, ‘Thank you for allowing me to help you’, and today because of Greg and Kay, we are one step closer to helping more Australians,” Mr Lorquet concluded.
Australians can build upon this legacy and help to create a future without cancer by donating to the NORTH Foundation today: northfoundation.org.au/northstar
