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The WA Kids Cancer Centre has a suite of world-leading research projects to unlock new treatments for childhood cancers.
News & Events
Childhood cancer story: How Rennae's child's cancer diagnosis affected her familyRennae's son Samuel was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma 13 years ago, and was originally given a 20% chance of survival. She bravely shares their story.
News & Events
Associate Professor Nick Gottardo awarded Cure Brain Cancer Foundation Innovation Grant 2017The Kids cancer researcher & clinician Dr Nick Gottardo has been announced as the recipient of an Innovation Grant from the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
News & Events
Funding boost for childhood cancer research projectsProjects to improve outcomes for leukaemia patients and reduce skin cancer rates in young Aboriginal people have received funding through Cancer Council WA.
News & Events
Immunotherapy drug dramatically improves survival for babies with rare leukaemiaA pilot clinical study, led in Australia by a The Kids Research Institute Australia and Perth Children's Hospital researcher, has found an immunotherapy drug can dramatically increase survival rates for babies with a rare form of leukaemia, paving the way for a major international clinical trial.
News & Events
Funding boost for cancer, antimicrobial resistance, and pain management treatmentsThe Kids Research Institute Australia researchers will share in $2.3 million awarded by the Western Australian Department of Health Innovation Seed Fund.
News & Events
Homeward bound: The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher taking on scientific leadership challengeThe Kids Research Institute Australia researcher, Dr Anya Jones, will join some of the world’s brightest female scientists after being selected to take part in a global project to amplify the voices of women in science leadership.
Research
Small nucleolar RNA networks are up-regulated during human anaphylaxisAnaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction driven primarily by the activation of mast cells. We still fail to understand factors underlying reaction severity. Furthermore, there is currently no reliable diagnostic test to confirm anaphylaxis in the emergency department.
Research
RUNX2 regulates leukemic cell metabolism and chemotaxis in high-risk T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemiaT cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy with inferior outcome compared with that of B cell ALL. Here, we show that Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) was upregulated in high-risk T-ALL with KMT2A rearrangements (KMT2A-R) or an immature immunophenotype. In KMT2A-R cells, we identified RUNX2 as a direct target of the KMT2A chimeras, where it reciprocally bound the KMT2A promoter, establishing a regulatory feed-forward mechanism.
Research
Small-molecule screen reveals synergy of cell cycle checkpoint kinase inhibitors with DNA-damaging chemotherapies in medulloblastomaMedulloblastoma (MB) consists of four core molecular subgroups with distinct clinical features and prognoses. Treatment consists of surgery, followed by radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Despite this intensive approach, outcome remains dismal for patients with certain subtypes of MB, namely, MYC-amplified Group 3 and TP53-mutated SHH. Using high-throughput assays, six human MB cell lines were screened against a library of 3208 unique compounds. We identified 45 effective compounds from the screen and found that cell cycle checkpoint kinase (CHK1/2) inhibition synergistically enhanced the cytotoxic activity of clinically used chemotherapeutics cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and gemcitabine.