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Support Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy Service

Cancer continues to take a devastating toll on Australians, and the burden is increasing. With your support, we can unlock a new era of precision cancer treatment - led by world experts right here in Northern Sydney.
University of Sydney Bio Medical Research
Beneficiary Royal North Shore Hospital
Active projects at facility 15 Projects
View Facility
0%
Our goal $9,650,000
Raised $0
To go $9,650,000

Using the immune system to fight back

At Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH), researchers are leading breakthroughs in cellular immunotherapy – advancing treatments that aim to improve survival and reduce the debilitating side effects of conventional therapies.

Now, we are building on this momentum. A new Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy Service at RNSH will deliver lifesaving clinical trials, develop next-generation therapies, and establish a unique Australian Cancer Immunology Biobank – marking a major leap forward in transforming cancer care.

Philanthropy is essential – public and commercial funding alone can’t keep pace with scientific progress. Your support accelerates trial activation, expands patient access, drives local treatment innovation, and helps establish a world-class, sustainable centre of excellence in cancer immunotherapy.

“Having the infrastructure and ability to develop our own treatments will be massively important.”

– Professor Cameron Turtle – Haematologist, Medical Director & Head of Research, Immune Effector Cell Service, RNSH

The opportunity and urgency

 

The high toll of cancer in Australia

Blood cancers and melanoma

are two of Australia’s most devastating diseases

53 Australians

are diagnosed with blood cancer every single day.

Every six hours

melanoma claims another Australian life.

The incidence of both is increasing – particularly among those over 40 – and in the case of melanoma, this is occurring despite ongoing awareness and prevention campaigns.

Although our understanding of cancer is greater than at any other point in history, cancer continues to be a leading cause of death largely because of lack of application of known interventions.

Current treatments are long, toxic and costly

For many patients with blood cancer, conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation are prolonged, debilitating and often ineffective, impacting quality of life and employment.

  • 1 in 3 patients cannot return to work post-treatment.
  • The projected economic burden of blood cancers will reach $71.9 billion annually by 2035.

These treatments can span years and still fail to provide a cure – especially for relapsed or advanced cases.

  • For melanoma, current immunotherapies offer a cure for around 50% of patients with advanced disease – but the remaining 50% do not have a durable response, highlighting the urgent need for more effective, less toxic treatments. What we learn from melanoma impacts a diverse range of solid cancers.

A transformative shift

Melanoma
Cellular immunotherapy

Cellular immunotherapy – including Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) therapy – have changed survival outcomes. These therapies aim to leverage the body’s own immune cells to seek and destroy cancer, without harming healthy cells.
• For large B-cell lymphoma that is resistant to chemotherapy, survival beyond five years has jumped from 0% to over 40%.
• For advanced melanoma, five-year survival for those who do not respond to the standard checkpoint immunotherapies has improved to 20%, where once it was nearly 0%.

Haematology Dept
Highly targeted, one-shot therapy

Unlike chemotherapy, cellular immunotherapies are often administered in a single session – potentially replacing months or years of traditional treatment. For some patients, this has meant not just remission, but a return to normal life far earlier and healthier than ever before.

“This isn’t just about treating more patients – it’s about giving people cutting-edge, single session treatments, aiming to cure
the incurable.” – Professor Georgina Long AO – Medical Oncologist, RNSH & 2024 Australian of the Year

Royal North Shore Hospital
Vision, Capability and Impact

A new cancer cellular immunotherapy service at RNSH

We are building a dedicated service and research powerhouse that will:

  1. Deliver treatments locally to patients in Northern Sydney and Northern NSW
  2. Run high-impact clinical trials for blood cancers, melanoma, lung and other hard-to-treat cancers
  3. Establish a unique Australian Cancer Immunology Biobank to fuel ongoing discovery
  4. Advance the next generation of immunotherapies through world-class translational research

This service will integrate with our existing excellence at the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre and NORTH Sydney Trials and Research Van Norton Poche (NORTH STAR VNP).

“We already have the people, the knowledge and the vision. What we need now is the support to make it a reality.”

– Dr William Stevenson – Head of Haematology & Transfusion Medicine, RNSH

Support Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy Service

Cutting-edge clinical trials are already underway

We are already running or preparing four cellular immunotherapy clinical trials:

  1. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
  2. Multiple myeloma
  3. Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma
  4. Advanced melanoma

These trials are only the beginning.

With infrastructure and funding in place, we will dramatically expand trial access and scope.

“This isn’t just about treating more patients – it’s about giving people treatments they can’t get anywhere else in the country.”

– Professor Georgina Long AO – Medical Oncologist, RNSH & 2024 Australian of the Year

With a philanthropic investment of $9.65 million over five years, we can fully establish the Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy Service and deliver:

Clinical Trial Infrastructure Cost: $4.7m

Establishing the foundational team and facilities to run transformative cancer trials.

Cancer Immunology Biobank Cost: $1.95m

The first of its kind in Australia – critical for research and national trial eligibility.

Translational Research Projects Cost: $3m

To unlock next-generation therapies, we must engineer new immune cells in the lab.

This initial investment will enable the service to become self-sustaining – delivering local, accessible, world-class immunotherapy treatments to more Australians.

“This is the beginning – the spark. The science is extraordinary.”

– Dr William Stevenson – Head of Haematology & Transfusion Medicine, RNSH

Support Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy Service

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